


Bright Lights and Golden Statues

by nightmaredaydream



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, F/F, Indie Beca, Musicians, Pop Princess Chloe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:15:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26890522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightmaredaydream/pseuds/nightmaredaydream
Summary: Chloe is pop's newest darling, Beca is part of an up and coming indie band. Chloe wants Beca's band to open for her on tour, Beca's not the biggest fan. Music Industry AU
Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell, Stacie Conrad/Aubrey Posen
Comments: 116
Kudos: 245





	1. Chapter 1

"Chloe!" "Chloe over here!" "Chloe, who are you dating?" "Chloe, who's your date for tonight?" "Chloe, who are you wearing?" "Chloe! Look here!" 

The photographers' voices overlap as Chloe makes her way down the red carpet. She stops occasionally, poses, and smiles in the direction of the blinding flashes. The repeated questions about her love life irk her a bit, but she sets her jaw and continues on. Occasionally, Chloe spots a familiar face, and they'll stop for brief pleasantries,

"Wow! It's so good to see you, you look amazing!" she says.

"You too! Big night for you tonight, how are you feeling?" they reply.

"It's an honor just to be nominated no matter how tonight ends!" Chloe responds with enthusiasm. She means it, but it's clear that others on the red carpet don't believe her. 

After another of these surface-level exchanges with a producer she can't quite remember the name of, she's directed towards an interview set up. The production assistant leads her to the center of a platform where she strikes a few poses. As she puts on a cheeky smile, a camera spins around to capture her full outfit. Then she's directed towards a man with blinding teeth who hands her a microphone. 

"Welcome back to the Grammy's Preshow: Red Carpet! My name is John Smith, and I'm here with the belle of tonight's ball, Miss Chloe Beale! How are you tonight, Chloe?" John smiles widely at her and looks over expectantly.

"Hi, John! I'm just so excited to be here tonight. It's always been a dream of mine to go to the Grammys, and I have a feeling it'll be a great show tonight." At that last part, Chloe throws a wink to the camera and looks back at John.

"Right! For any viewers who don't know, on top of being nominated for six Grammys tonight, Chloe here is opening the show! Are you feeling the pressure?" He asks, and Chloe has to make a conscious effort not to roll her eyes. She's been asked some variation of this question for the past few months non-stop. 

"Not really pressure, I think I'm just feeling excited! Everyone at rehearsals was so friendly and inviting, and I think I'm going to just go up there and have fun!" Chloe's cheeks are starting to hurt from all the smiling and enthusiasm, and she's ready to get inside and backstage to start the show. Her preshow ritual sometimes takes a while, and she needs to get started.

"Oh, to be young." John deadpans to the camera, and Chloe laughs appropriately. "Well, how about those six nominations? Do you have acceptance speeches prepared?" He asks and wiggles his eyebrows at Chloe.

* * *

Beca walks into her apartment to see a very smiley Chloe Beale on the TV talking to that entertainment news reporter she can never remember the name of.

"What in the world are you watching that for?" Beca groans as she puts her backpack and bass case down. 

"Because even though you're in denial about it. You, my dear, are nominated for a Grammy. That's a big deal. And since you refused to actually attend, we are going to watch all the coverage I can find." Stacie turns around to look at Beca from where she's curled up on the couch. 

"Even the red carpet? That's for like, middle-aged moms, Stace." Beca shoots back, accompanied by a glare.

"Yes, even the red carpet that you deprived me of." Stacie sighs dramatically.

"But why do we have to watch this douche's interviews?" The shorter girl whines as she sinks down on the couch next to her best friend and bandmate.

"I wasn't watching him before, but he got an interview with Chloe Beale, so I tuned in." Stacie responds while grabbing back part of the blanket Beca just stole from her. 

"Why?" Beca asks.

The taller brunette gives her a pointed look before responding, "Because she is at the top of the game, and we could learn a thing or two."

"But she's just so... bubbly. How can anyone be that ecstatic all the time? There's no way it's real Stace, and maybe you forgot The Strikes don't do fake." Beca tries, Stacie gives another long-suffering sigh at Beca's insistent mistrust of Chloe Beale.

"Don't try to judge someone you haven't even met, Beca. And even if she is fake, her music speaks for itself. Butterflies is a fantastic album, and I know you know every word and every bass line on it."

Beca has the decency to look caught and turns her attention to the TV. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Stacie roll her eyes and the beginning of her signature smirk. They sit in silence watching the TV as the rude interviewer plays some weird version of truth or dare with Chloe Beale, and Beca has to suppress her distaste for the segment. As Chloe Beale walks, well more like bounces, away from the interviewer, Stacie picks up the remote and starts scrolling through the other channels showing Grammy footage. She puts her legs up in Beca's lap and asks,

"So, how did the writing session go?"

Beca can't help the smile that creeps onto her face. She and The Strikes' keyboardist Emily had a great writing session earlier. "It was great! We wrote you this hook I know you're going to kill; it's right in your belt range. The problem this time around is we have so many good options for this EP, and Emily and I aren't out of ideas yet." 

"So... are these new songs better than Out of Time?" Stacie grins as Beca grabs the nearest throw pillow and smacks her with it before putting it over her face.

"We don't talk about that song." Beca bemoans into the pillow.

"Sorry? What was that? I couldn't hear you on account of the pillow on your face." Stacie snarks. 

Beca dramatically flings the pillow across the room and repeats, "We. Don't. Talk. About. That. Song."

"Which one? The one you're nominated for a fucking Grammy for?"

Beca sighs while thinking about the song she'd written. At the time, she felt the piece was good but not the right vibe for The Strikes. Naturally, she started shopping the song around, and it sparked interest from Ed Sheeran of all people. After a bit of workshopping, it became the perfect lead single for Ed's new album. In all honesty, Beca is really proud of the final product, and she's credited as a songwriter and producer.

"Listen, I've said it once I'll say it a million times. Out of Time was not right for us."

"Yeah, yeah, and you had to rewrite the whole thing for Ed's range instead of mine blah blah blah." Stacie laughs. "Becs, I'm so proud of you. And we both know it's the first nomination of many. You deserve this."

Beca blushes at the sincere praise. "Thanks, loser."

It's quiet for a while as they view the last of the red carpet footage. The best friends watch all kinds of stars getting past the cameras to go inside in time for the show. Of course, there are those late arrivals scheduled to arrive last so they can make a splash. More prominent names get to skip the interviews and sections of the red carpet they don't enjoy. During one segment of the preshow Beca deems boring, she orders Thai food for them to gorge on during the awards. 

Soon enough, the interviews end and the red carpet reporters say their goodbyes. The Grammy's logo flashes up on the screen as an announcer welcomes the viewers to "The Grammy Awards Live from Staples Center in Los Angeles, California." The screen fades to black, and then slowly, the face of one Chloe Beale comes into view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fic, please let me know what you think. Feedback is much appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 2

After what felt like an eternity, Chloe finally made it to the end of the red carpet. She's greeted with the welcome sight of Sean, a young production assistant who has been helping her during rehearsals all week. He still seems a little star-struck by her, so as she approaches, Chloe smiles and gives him a short wave.

"Miss Beale! How's it going out there?" he asks eagerly.

"It's been fun, but I am ready to get off my feet and out of these heels for a bit." she pauses and makes a serious face before scolding Sean, "And Sean, I've been telling you all week. It's Chloe, none of this Miss Beale business."

"Sorry, Chloe," Sean says, looking down at the ground, clearly embarrassed.

"It's alright! I just don't like feeling so stuffy." She reaches out and touches his arm to convey her sincerity, and he looks up with puppy dog eyes. After another moment of standing there, she follows up, "We better get going though, there's a show to put on."

"Right! To your dressing room." Sean says hurriedly, alarm apparent. He turns and beckons for her to follow. They begin their journey through the Staples Center's backstage, and all around her, people are rushing around to make sure everything is set for the show. It always amazes Chloe how many people it takes to put on live performances and how hard each and every one of them works.

As they continue their journey to the dressing rooms, Sean looks over his shoulder and says, "You look great, by the way! Blue is definitely your color, well, any color is your color, and you always look great. I just meant that this dress is-"

"Thank you, Sean. You don't look so bad yourself, I like the headset." Chloe saves them both from his ramble.

Sean blushes and mumbles, "Thanks."

They continue walking, and Chloe gets lost in her thoughts about her performance going over every move she needs to make in her head. She's so engrossed in her mental dance performance she doesn't notice that Sean has stopped in front of her. She bumps into him and lets out a yelp of surprise.

"Sorry! I didn't realize we were stopping." Chloe says quickly.

Sean chuckles a bit before saying, "Yeah, well, we're here." He gestures towards the door with Chloe's name on it. 

Chloe takes a step back to get out of Sean's personal space and smiles. "Thanks for getting me here." She says.

"Yeah, no problem. I'll come back to get you for showtime." He informs her before opening the door for her. Chloe walks into her dressing room and gives Sean a wave before he turns to walk away. 

Alone for the first time in hours, Chloe sits down at the vanity and lets out a sigh of relief. She reaches down and unbuckles her heels, giving her feet a well-deserved break. She looks at the mirror in front of her and spends a moment taking in her surroundings. Five years ago, if someone told her she'd be opening the Grammys, she would have laughed in their face. But here she is, and she can't help but let out a squeal of delight. She gets up and grabs a bottle of water out of the mini-fridge then moves to the small couch in the room. In front of her sits a bowl of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, probably the weirdest thing on her rider. She grabs one and pops it in her mouth, chuckling when realizing it's black pepper flavored.

Suddenly, the door flings open, and her style team pours in. They'd spent most of the afternoon together getting her red carpet ready and seeing them helps calm her down.

"My lovely Chloe, you were dazzling out there." Tony, her makeup artist, says dreamily. Tony is a lanky young man in his mid-twenties with short blonde hair and bright green eyes. He has an emerging career as a drag queen, and since his drag career started taking off, he's begun dropping clients. Chloe feels lucky to still have him on her team and is resolved to make sure he knows that.

"Aw, thanks, Tony. It was all because of y'all." She replies, popping another jelly bean in her mouth.

"Impossible, we merely enhance what is already there. You are gorgeous with or without our help, darling." Her hairstylist, Pam, chimes in. She's in her late thirties and a proud mother of three. Pam is short, always smells like lavender, and constantly has a sparkle in her chocolate-colored eyes.

"Still, I couldn't do all this without you." Chloe gestures around and continues eating her jelly beans.

"I don't understand why you eat those things. You know there are jelly beans that come without all the bad flavors, right?" Chloe's stylist Allison collapses onto the couch next to her, long black hair hitting Chloe on the way down. Allison is dressed in her signature style, as always, which Chloe has heard is called snappy casual. She doesn't really know what that means. It seems like Allison could be going to perform a corporate takeover or out for brunch with the girls in Chloe's experience.

Chloe smiles and gives Allison a shrug, "The bad ones make the good ones that much better. Plus, I like feeling like I'm in Harry Potter."

"Yeah yeah, we know you're a nerd." Tony rolls his eyes playfully.

Allison claps and gets all their attention sitting up, "Okay, let's get you ready!"

Chloe tries not to groan as she moves back to the vanity. She sits as still as she can while Tony touches up her makeup, and Pam weaves her hair into an intricate half-up, half-down look. Taking the time to center herself, Chloe closes her eyes and concentrates on her breathing. Her team chatters around her, Tony and Pam continuing to work while Allison steams her tuxedo for the performance.

"Okay, let's get you dressed." Allison sounds far away as Chloe turns her attention back to the room.

Chloe stands up, and Allison unzips the light blue gown. She steps out of it and puts on the perfectly tailored slacks, which make her legs look miles long. Then Allison helps her put the jacket on which they secure with lots of fashion tape. The tux is black, but when it catches the light, it sparkles like the night sky. Chloe gives the jacket a test shimmy,

"We are not showing the girls live on TV today," Chloe says with a giggle.

Tony looks like a kid in a candy store, and Pam's hands are over her mouth; they look the same as they did earlier in the afternoon when Chloe first put on the gown. Chloe rolls her eyes at them and says,

"You two are going to give me a big head!"

"We're just so proud of you, honey," Pam replies, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

Tony looks Chloe in her eyes, "We know how hard you've worked to get here. You deserve everything you've gotten so far, and so much more."

"Okay, don't make me cry and ruin all your hard work." Chloe's voice cracks the tiniest bit.

Never one for emotion, Allison gives her an approving smile and nod. Chloe forces them all into a group hug, during which Allison warns them not to wrinkle Chloe's outfit, and her style team heads out. Alone again, Chloe sits down carefully and eats a few more jelly beans. Not much later, there's a knock on the door,

"Come in!" she calls.

Sean pops his head in and asks, "You ready to go?"

Chloe gathers herself together and inhales deeply. She stands and nods at Sean resolutely, "Let's do this thing."

Sean gives her a wide grin and turns to lead her to the stage. She follows, taking in the people bustling around her. They're moving even faster than earlier, and she tries to smile at every passing person. Sean leads her into one of the wings. She can see the musicians and celebrities pouring into the Staples Center, finding their seats. Soon enough, the lights go down, and it's time. Sean gives her one last thumbs up, handing her a microphone, and whispers,

"You got this!"

She makes her way to a stool set at center stage. At the same time, an announcer comes over the speaker system and says, "Welcome, to the Grammy Awards live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California." She sits down, and after a moment, the lights come up, hot on Chloe's skin. She starts to sing.

After a few discussions with the Grammy team, they'd decided she would sing a stripped-down version of her breakout single Upside Down. It's a post-breakup anthem she'd written after realizing that her ex kept changing the rules in her last relationship. He made Chloe feel like she was always in the wrong. She'd written the song to process those feelings and commit to never letting it happen again. At the time, she never expected the song to go anywhere, but it rocketed her into the spotlight. She sings her heart out in front of the Grammy audience, and they applaud when she hits the high note and holds it even longer than in the recorded version. She smiles at the cheers, finishes the song, and stands up.

"Hey y'all, how are you doing tonight?" She asks the crowd, walking across the stage, waving at the audience.

They cheer in response, and Chloe can't help the grin that forms from the pure joy of performing. 

"Well, you all look spectacular out there. My name is Chloe Beale, this is the Grammys, let's go!" Chloe exclaims into the microphone.

A familiar drumbeat starts as her dancers walk out, and the crowd cheers again. Chloe and her dancers strike a pose at center stage, and the drumbeat stops for a moment. The crowd starts cheering even louder than before, as Chloe slowly raises her microphone to her mouth. She starts to belt the title track of her album, Butterflies. She hits nearly every beat of the most challenging choreography she's ever learned. She's thrown around in complicated lifts, trusting the dancers while putting everything into her song. Chloe hits the last note perfectly and strikes another pose surrounded by the dancers. She's out of breath but tries not to show it as the audience applauds. Most of them are standing and cheering, and she gives them one last wave before the lights go down. Chloe and the dancers hurry offstage while the host, DJ Khaled, heads out to greet the audience.

* * *

"Welcome to the Grammy Awards! Wasn't Chloe just great? Stick around; we have a wonderful show for you all tonight. We will be right back." DJ Khaled says

Beca looks over at Stacie, who still hasn't closed her mouth. She reaches over and pushes up on Stacie's chin with laughter in her eyes. Stacie gives her a dirty look and says,

"Becs, she's good. Like really good. Shit, she's the real thing."

Beca rolls her eyes and responds, "Yeah, she's not bad."

Stacie smacks her on the arm before saying, "Not bad?! Beca, did you just watch the performance that I did? That choreography? And she did it all in heels! I think that girl is everything they say she is and more."

"Okay, so she's good at her job." Beca deadpans.

It's Stacie's turn to roll her eyes at Beca's antics, "I know you found that performance impressive, and hot as fuck." Beca doesn't respond. Stacie smiles and wiggles her eyebrows at Beca, "You have to admit she's hot."

Beca shakes her head in refusal, and Stacie starts tickling her. 

"Stop! Stop! You know I hate being tickled!" Beca manages between laughs.

"Admit you think she's hot, and I'll stop," the taller girl says wickedly.

"Okay, she's super fucking hot. I admit it." She gives in.

After a moment, they settle back down, while commercials continue to play. The doorbell rings and Beca goes to get it. She comes back with their Thai food and a bottle of wine. She hands Stacie her usual order and pours them both big glasses of wine. They begin to eat in silence as DJ Khaled starts his opening monologue, making jokes about everyone in the audience. In the middle of one of the less funny jokes, Stacie points her chopsticks at Beca and says,

"You need to get laid."

"Where did that come from, and you know I don't do casual hookups." Beca is slightly alarmed but used to Stacie's involvement in her love life.

"Then don't do a casual hookup, get into a relationship."

"I'm focusing on the band right now."

Stacie sighs, "I focus on the band, but The Hunter still gets what he needs."

Beca makes a face at Stacie's mention of The Hunter, "There's no one I'm even interested in right now."

"Right, but it's been what? Ten months since what's her name?" Stacie gestures vaguely.

"Her name was Sophie, and it's been a year."

Stacie's eyes nearly bulge out of her head, and she practically screams, "What?! Beca, it's been a year since you've gotten some? That's too long. Do I need to find you someone? Because I met this girl at the club the other night, and I think you two would really hit it off." 

"I'm fine," Beca says stoically. 

"But tell me, are you at least taking care of yourself? You can't have gone a year without an orgasm. Hell, I'll go down on you myself if you haven't."

"Stacie!" Beca says, slightly scandalized. She starts turning red, "That's none of your business."

Stacie gives her a smirk. Desperate for a distraction from the conversation, Beca turns to the TV.

"Look! They're about to present Best New Artist." Beca points at the TV.

Stacie lets her off the hook for the moment and turns her attention to the awards show.

* * *

After her performance, Chloe rushes to her dressing room to change back into her gown and get into the audience. Sean informs her that Best New Artist will be presented soon, so she needs to get going. Her style team congratulates her and swiftly touches up her look, while she slips back into the light blue off the shoulder gown. Once her appearance is deemed acceptable by Allison, she's rushed into the audience to get her seated before the commercial break ends. She sits down just as the lights go down, and DJ Khaled starts talking to the audience. Chloe looks around and sees she's been seated at the end of a row next to Kacey Musgraves. She realizes that she's starving and tries to look for somewhere she could get food during the next commercial break. Unfortunately, all she can see are bars.

"Is there seriously no food in the entire Staples Center?" Chloe grumbles to herself.

Next to her, Kacey chuckles, "No, I'm afraid not. You'll have to wait for the after-party if you want to eat. But there's plenty to drink for the ceremony."

"I'm going to stay away from alcohol for now." Chloe decides.

"Smart girl, I'm Kacey, by the way." She says, extending her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Kacey, I'm a big fan of yours. My name's Chloe." She shakes Kacey's hand with a smile.

"You're just as bubbly as they say," Kacey says amusedly.

"And you're just as badass as I've always imagined." the redhead responds.

Kacey raises her eyebrows in surprise, "She swears, I would never have guessed."

"I can be energetic and still swear," Chloe says with a smile.

"Can't argue there."

DJ Khaled then invites Billie Eilish on stage, who starts to talk about her experience as a Grammy winner and Best New Artist winner. Billie then announces that she is going to present Best New Artist,

"The nominees are… Chloe Beale."

Chloe smiles, knowing there is a camera focused on her. After hearing her name, everything goes silent, and all she can hear is her heartbeat in her ears. She knows that it's an honor to be nominated, let alone win, but that doesn't mean she's not nervous about the awards' outcome. Suddenly everyone is clapping, and Kacey is nudging her,

"Get up there and accept your award, girl!"

She internally freaks out and starts to move towards the stage. Chloe walks up the stairs and across the stage. Billie gives her a hug, and she's handed the Grammy. Chloe approaches the microphone, completely unsure what to say,

"Wow! Thank you so much for this. I am speechless, but I'm going to do my best not to be. Thank you to The Recording Academy, thank you to everyone who helped me get here. To my music teachers from throughout the years, thank you for helping me explore and learn. To my style team, thank you for making sure I look great and making the process fun. To my brother Kyle, thank you for keeping me grounded and being my rock. To my agent and best friend Aubrey, thank you for sticking by me even when it seemed like we'd never get here. And to my mom and dad, thank you for supporting me and surrounding me with music and positivity. Thank you!" Chloe waves at the crowd and walks offstage.

* * *

"And the Grammy goes to… Chloe Beale!" Billie Eilish says on their TV.

Stacie squeals in excitement, "She deserves it!"

They watch as Chloe realizes she won and makes her way to the stage. She gives an excellent short speech thanking the people in her life, and as she makes her way offstage, Stacie looks at Beca and says,

"I have a great idea."

"Nothing good has ever come from you saying those words." Beca looks back warily.

"We're going to take a shot every time Chloe Beale wins a Grammy." Stacie says, then after seeing the doubt in Beca's eyes, she continues, "Come on Becs, live a little. It'll be fun!"

Instead of responding, Beca sighs and gets up off the couch. She grabs a bottle of tequila from their kitchen and two shot glasses before searching around their fridge for a lime. She finds one, cuts it up, grabs the salt, and heads back into the living room. She puts all of her ingredients down and hands the tequila to Stacie.

"Yay! This is going to be so much fun!" Stacie says excitedly while pouring them shots. 

They both get ready to take their shots, and Stacie clinks the shot glasses together, nearly spilling tequila everywhere.

"I can already tell I'm going to regret this," Beca says before licking the salt, throwing back the shot, then biting into the lime.

About an hour and a half later, Chloe is three for four, and between the wine and the tequila, they are decidedly tipsy. Beca feels loose and happy as they continue to watch the awards show when finally she hears Tracee Ellis Ross announce the nominees for Song of the Year. Beca and Stacie stand up, while Tracee continues to read the names.

"And the Grammy goes to… Out of Time by Beca Mitchell and Ed Sheeran."

Stacie screams and jumps, while Beca falls back onto the couch in shock.

"Beca! You did it! You're a Grammy Award winner!" Stacie is right in her face.

"Holy shit. I just won a Grammy." Beca is still in disbelief as Ed gets onstage.

"Thank you! Thanks to The Recording Academy and all the other nominees tonight. Most importantly, thank you to Beca Mitchell; without her, this song would not exist, and we had such a good time creating it. If you know what's good for you, check out Beca and her band The Strikes, they're doing some really amazing things. I, for one, am a big fan." Ed then opens his suit jacket to reveal a Strikes' shirt underneath.

The audience laughs, and Ed continues on with his speech. Beca is still shell shocked, but she notices her phone won't stop buzzing. She answers a call from her dad, who tells her how proud of her he is, and Beca starts crying. They say goodbye, and as she's pulling herself together, she gets a call from Ed,

"Do you like my shirt?" Ed asks, and she can hear the cheeky smile on his face.

"Love it. Do you like my award?" She quips back.

He laughs before responding, "Love it. Listen, Beca, I know you refused to go to the ceremony, but you must go to the after-party. Please? For me? We just won a Grammy, and you need to celebrate it properly."

Stacie is eavesdropping, and she nods eagerly at Beca. She takes a moment to think before agreeing, "Okay, we'll be there."

"Brilliant, I'll text you the address. See you soon, B-Mitch." 

She rolls her eyes at the nickname, "See you soon, E-Sheer."

Before she hangs up the phone, Beca can hear Ed laugh at her bad accent. Then she turns her attention to Stacie,

"Shit, we have to get ready."

Suddenly the apartment is a flurry of activity as the two of them get ready to go out. It takes about half an hour, but they look great. Beca opted for ripped jeans, an overly expensive white t-shirt, and her favorite leather jacket. Stacie went with a short silver dress with a plunging neckline. Pulling out her phone, Beca calls them an Uber to the address Ed sent her. 

"Hey, we missed the end of the Grammys, I wonder what happened," Stacie says.

"I don't know, look it up," Beca replies, looking pointedly at the phone in Stacie's hand.

After a moment, Stacie excitedly says, "Chloe won album of the year!" 

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"She deserves it, and you know it." Stacie is almost accusatory.

Beca holds her hands up in defeat because Chloe really does deserve it. Stacie pours them both shots, and when Beca gives her a questioning look, she says,

"We said a shot for every time she wins!"

Beca groans a little, but downs the shot with Stacie anyways. Not long after, their Uber arrives, and they're on their way.

They pull up in front of a rooftop club surrounded by people with cameras trying to get good shots of the arriving celebrities. Beca and Stacie walk up to the bouncer who asks them for their names,

"You're not on the list." He says gruffly.

"Huh, that's weird. My friend here just won a Grammy tonight, you see. Her and Ed Sheeran," Stacie says.

"Yeah, and I hung out with Beyonce all night." The bouncer replies sarcastically.

"Look, I promise we're not some crazy fans. Can you please just let us in?" Stacie tries.

"You're. Not. On. The. List." The bouncer looks at them like they're dumb. 

Beca is ready to give up and go home when a bright voice from behind them says,

"What seems to be the problem?"

Beca turns around to see Chloe fucking Beale walking up behind them.

The bouncer rolls his eyes before saying, "These two are trying to sneak in."

"Sneak in? But they're meant to be here." Chloe says confusedly.

"If they're meant to be here, then why aren't they on the list?" The bouncer shoots back.

"I don't know, it must be some kind of oversight. But for now, they're with me." Chloe still sounds positively charming even as she's slightly defiant. Stacie smiles happily at her as the bouncer moves to let them in the club. As they walk inside, Chloe turns to Beca, holding out her hand, and says,

"Hi! I'm-"

"Chloe Beale, yeah, I know." Beca interrupts her, and Chloe looks unimpressed as Beca continues, "I'm-"

"Beca Mitchell, yeah, I know." Chloe jumps in, giving Beca a pointed look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one got kinda long... oops. Let me know what you think! Hope you're enjoying so far


	3. Chapter 3

Beca tries not to visibly shy away from the challenge apparent in Chloe’s eyes. They hold eye contact, and after a moment, Beca reaches out and shakes the redhead’s offered hand. Chloe’s hands are incredibly soft, and they stand holding hands longer than Beca would usually tolerate physical contact. Reluctantly, she takes her hand back and tries to ignore the tingle that’s spreading from her fingertips down her spine. After another moment of silence and staring, Stacie steps directly in front of Beca,

“Hi! Stacie, not that anyone asked.” She reaches out to shake a visibly embarrassed Chloe’s hand, the redhead still hadn’t lowered her arm.

“Sorry about that, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Stacie,” Chloe says

“No need to apologize,” Stacie flashes her signature smile, which Beca has seen get Stacie into the bedrooms of many unsuspecting victims. “So, Chloe, four-time Grammy winner. Can I buy you a drink as a thank you?”

“I’m pretty sure the drinks at this party are free.” Chloe giggles, “And anyway, before alcohol, I need food. I’ve been hungry since my performance.”

“Well then, right this way, milady.” Stacie makes a grand sweeping gesture as they walk into the club. 

Beca can’t help but smile at her best friend’s antics, and she immediately spots the table covered in In-N-Out burgers, fries, and milkshakes. The club is on the roof of a relatively large building, and there’s a swimming pool in the center filled with floating candles. A DJ presides over the dance floor on the opposite side of the pool; Beca also spots a bar, some tables, and a few more private booths. The music is loud, and there isn’t much lighting, but Beca gets the other two girls’ attention and gestures towards the food. They both nod and follow Beca in that direction. 

Once they reach the table, it’s a bit quieter, and Beca hears Chloe moan in pleasure due to the spread in front of them. The brunette watches as Chloe picks up a cheeseburger, unwraps it, and begins to eat as if her life depends on it. Beca holds back a laugh,

“Good burger?” she asks.

Chloe nods vigorously as she finishes her bite, “Literally exactly what I’ve been craving. All I’ve eaten today is a cup of fruit for breakfast and some jellybeans.” Chloe pauses and looks at Beca in confusion, “Aren’t you going to have anything?”

“Nah, I’m not really hungry. Plus, I would have to add another hour of cardio to my gym time if I have a second dinner.” Beca points at Stacie next to her, “This one will always eat though, and she doesn’t have to put in nearly as much time at the gym.” 

“That’s because I work it all off in the bedroom.” Stacie winks at Chloe.

“Dude! Stop it, we’re in public.” Beca looks over at a blushing Chloe, “Sorry about her.”

Chloe laughs at the two friends. Desperately wanting something to do, Beca grabs the nearest milkshake and takes a sip. 

“Oh Beca, ever so prudish.” Stacie sighs.

Before Beca can retaliate, Chloe reaches over and pops the lid off Beca’s shake. The brunette looks at Chloe in confusion, while Chloe grabs a french fry and dips it in Beca’s milkshake. 

“Umm… What exactly are you doing?” Beca asks.

“Eating fries,” Chloe replies as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. She dips another fry in, “Want one?”

“You do realize this is my milkshake, right?” The brunette is slightly taken aback.

“Yeah, but I’m not going to finish a whole one, so I thought we could share!” Chloe chirps.

“Okay, I guess.” Beca doesn’t know how else to answer. She can see Stacie hiding her laughter behind her hand, and the shorter girl shoots her best friend a death glare. Chloe hums happily as she continues to eat her fries. Beca is about to comment on how there are better things to dip fries in, like ketchup, for instance, when someone tackles her from behind. She’s one second from using the moves she picked up from a self-defense class Stacie signed them up for when her attacker says,

“B-Mitch! I’m so glad you came!” Beca relaxes and turns around to smack Ed on the arm.

“Dude, don’t sneak up on me that! You were so close to getting laid out.”

Ed puts up his hands in surrender, “Sorry, Beca, I forget how scary you are sometimes.” He gives her a wide smile, “Now let’s get to the bar, we just won a Grammy, and we are going to celebrate that properly.” At that moment, Ed grabs Beca’s shoulders and starts steering her towards the bar.

“Woah, I can walk there myself.”

“I know, but isn’t this so much more fun?”

Beca just rolls her eyes as they approach the bar. The bartender notices them coming over and calls out,

“What can I get you two?”

“Two shots of fireball whiskey,” Ed says proudly.

By now, Beca is used to Ed’s poor taste in liquor and just goes along with it. The bartender pours their shots and slides them over. They each pick one up and clink them together. 

“To your first Grammy!” Ed cheers.

“To your last one!” Beca snarks back. Ed laughs as they both tip their heads back, downing the shots. Ed turns his attention back to the amused looking bartender,

“Another round please?”

“My pleasure.” 

The second round is poured, and soon there’s even more alcohol flowing through Beca’s bloodstream. At this point, Beca can tell she is well and truly drunk, so when Ed shouts,

“Let’s go dance!” Beca doesn’t even think to object. She nods happily as they make their way towards the mediocre DJ and the star-studded dance floor.

* * *

After Ed came and stole Beca away, Chloe and Stacie made their way to one of the tables. They chat a bit about the awards show and what it’s like on that stage. Chloe mentions having seen The Strikes perform at a festival earlier in the year and how she really enjoyed their style. 

“You were born to be a frontwoman.” She informs Stacie.

“Thank you, I’d like to think so too.”

“Honestly! You have a stage presence that’s so rare and such natural charisma. Not to mention your sex appeal.”

“Thank you, genuinely. But look who’s talking. Your performance tonight was one of the best live TV moments I’ve ever seen.”

“That was the hardest performance I’ve ever been a part of. I’m shocked I’m standing here on the other side of it.”

Stacie laughs a big, “Well I have nothing but respect for you.”

Chloe smiles, and behind Stacie, she can see Aubrey approaching. The redhead squeals and flies out of her chair towards her friend,

“Bree! It’s so good to see you!”

They hug, and Aubrey softly says,

“Chlo, I am so so so proud of you.”

“I couldn’t do it without you.” Chloe smiles and hugs her friend tighter.

Chloe grabs her friend’s hand and heads back towards Stacie, who’s standing by their table.

“Bree, this is Stacie Conrad, the lead singer of The Strikes. Stacie, my best friend, and agent extraordinaire Aubrey Posen.”

Stacie smiles, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aubrey.” They shake hands, and Chloe swears the temperature in the room goes up a few degrees. Chloe watches her best friend’s gaze sweep up and down Stacie’s body appreciatively, and smirks to herself.

“I’m just going to run to the ladies’ room,” Chloe says. Aubrey nods absentmindedly in response, her focus still on the leggy brunette. 

Chloe walks away from the two women and looks around. She doesn’t actually have to go to the bathroom, plus there’s a long line, so that’s not worth it. Out of the corner of her eye, Chloe sees Beca on the dance floor with Ed. Beca looks loose and happy as she moves surprisingly well. Chloe smiles and shakes her head a bit as she continues to wander around the club. A few people smile and nod to acknowledge her as the redhead passes by. Still, no one makes an attempt to engage her in conversation. Chloe sets her sights on the bar and makes her way towards it.

“What can I get for tonight’s big winner?” The bartender smiles at her as she sits down on a barstool.

“You tell me, what’s a proper celebration drink?”

The bartender raises an eyebrow, “Normally I’d say champagne, but in this case, I think something special is in order.” Chloe watches as the bartender grabs various bottles and starts mixing her drink. After a few minutes, they slide the glass towards Chloe, it’s full of dark red, nearly brown liquid with cherries as a garnish. The redhead looks at the glass in confusion,

“What is it?”

“It’s my signature drink, the black manhattan with a little twist. Try it.”

Chloe takes a cautious sip and is first shocked by just how strong the drink is. After a moment, she picks up on some sweetness and decides to take another drink.

“So, what do you think?”

“It’s delicious, I’ve never had anything like this before. I like how the sweetness hits you later.”

“Yeah, I add more sweet flavors than other bartenders. Glad you enjoy it.” The bartender gives Chloe a toothy grin as they move down the bar to help another customer. 

Chloe turns around, so her back is facing the bar, and surveys the party around her. She takes a few more sips of her drink when Beca catches her eye again. Chloe watches Beca continue to dance. Not too much later, Chloe’s glass is half empty, and she hasn’t taken her eyes off Beca. There’s a moment when she could swear Beca makes eye contact with her, but it’s over before Chloe even realizes it’s happening. She forces herself to tear her eyes off Beca and looks around the party for Aubrey. The redhead finds Aubrey still at the table with Stacie; it seems like they wouldn’t notice if the room was on fire around them. Chloe smiles for her friend, and her gaze falls on Beca again. She’s hypnotized as Beca’s hips move in time to the beat, and Chloe doesn’t even notice that she’s somehow finished her drink.

Shaking herself out of the creepy staring, she turns back to the bar and sets her empty glass down.

“Can I get you anything else?” The bartender asks.

“A shot of vodka, please.”

“Any particular brand?”

“I’m not picky.”

The bartender pours out her shot, and she quickly tosses it back. She smiles as the bartender tries to hide their shock, and thanks them for the drinks. Impulsively, Chloe walks in the direction of the dance floor. She starts on the edge of the floor just letting the music flow through her, occasionally she’ll dance with someone she knows, but for the most part, Chloe is dancing alone, and she feels free. She’s spinning around when she sees a familiar leather jacket. Chloe makes another impulsive decision and goes over to dance with Beca.

As Chloe makes her way towards the brunette, she sees a flash of something in the shorter girl’s eyes. It only lasts a second before Beca turns around, and Chloe is treated to a great view of those hips that caught her attention earlier. The three of them dance together for a while when Beca says something to Chloe. The music is too loud for Chloe to hear, and she’s never been good at lip-reading,

“What did you say?” Chloe is basically shouting over the music.

Beca gives her a small eye-roll before moving in closer. Suddenly, Beca is right in front of her, and wow, Beca’s eyes are blue. In this light, they look kind of gray, and Chloe could get lost in them. Just then, a husky voice speaks right next to her ear,

“I asked you where your moves from the Grammy’s are.” Beca steps back with a smirk.

Chloe tries to push Beca further away in protest of her comment, but the shorter woman doesn’t budge. The redhead settles with putting her hands on her hips and asking,

“Are you always like this?”

Beca looks pensive for a moment before moving back towards Chloe. The husky voice returns, “No, actually, I’m not.”

They make eye contact again, and Beca is so close, but not close enough. The brunette moves away again, and they go back to dancing. Chloe keeps having to consciously stop staring at Beca and tries to lose herself in the music once more. As the current song comes to an end, Chloe allows herself a peek at Beca only to find the short brunette is gone.

* * *

Beca has been dancing for so long she’s lost all sense of time. She feels like part of the music until Chloe Beale comes along. Instead of just dancing, Beca begins to overanalyze every move she makes, wondering if Chloe thinks she looks stupid. So Beca asks Chloe an idiotic question to try to tamp down her nerves. Then when Chloe can’t hear her, she stupidly doubles down on being an asshole and feels immediately guilty. They’re dancing again, and everything about being around Chloe is confusing Beca. 

After high school, Beca made a vow to never let herself have feelings for a straight girl again, and Chloe Beale will not be the reason she breaks this promise to herself. Beca watches Chloe dance for a bit, feeling drawn to her. The brunette decides she needs to get out of there, so while no one is paying attention, she slips off the dance floor. 

Glancing around the club, Beca looks for her best friend. She starts to walk around the club on her search. Beca is about to check the bathrooms when she finally sees Stacie in one of the private booths making out with a blonde woman. 

“Of course,” Beca mutters to herself. 

She turns around and decides to head home without Stacie. As the brunette makes her way towards the door, she sends off two texts. Beca lets Ed and Stacie know she had a lot of fun but decided to get an Uber home because she got a great song idea. Definitely not because a particular pop star is confusing the hell out of her. Beca decides not to dwell on thoughts of Chloe as she heads outside to wait for her Uber. Once in the parking lot, the fresh air, well the smoggy air, helps the brunette clear her head. 

* * *

Chloe spins around slowly, looking for Beca. 

“How did she disappear that fast?” She says to no one in particular. Chloe starts to make her way off the dance floor when someone catches her by the wrist,

“Chloe!” She looks up to see one of the executives from her label.

“Hey, Tom!” Chloe musters up the best smile she can, not that it matters with how drunk he seems.

“Where are you going?” He slurs.

“Just off the dance floor, I need a break.”

“No! Stay! Dance with me.” Tom demands.

Chloe looks around, but unfortunately, no one is paying attention. “I’m pretty tired, Tom.”

“Chloe, don’t be difficult. It’s just one song.”

Chloe nods in agreement, not wanting to cause a fuss in the middle of the dance floor. They start dancing, and Tom keeps trying to put his hands on her. He’s too drunk to notice how skillfully Chloe is evading him, and Chloe counts the seconds until the song ends. Somewhere around 79, Chloe catches a glimpse of Beca getting into the elevator.

“I just saw my friend. I have to go.” Chloe says over the music, not really caring about Tom’s response. She walks as quickly as she can off the dance floor and towards the exit. Realizing she can’t wait for the elevator, Chloe decides to take the stairs and rushes down them. It’s a wonder she doesn’t trip in her heels, and she’s thankful once she gets to the bottom. The redhead takes a moment to catch her breath before making her way outside. As she exits the building, Chloe glances around for Beca. Spotting the black leather jacket, Chloe walks up and taps Beca on the shoulder.

“Leaving so soon?” The redhead asks.

Beca looks surprised to see her, “Yeah, um, I had a song idea. So I had to get home to work on it.”

“I would love to write with you one day,” Chloe says with a genuine smile.

Beca responds with a scoff, “I don’t know if we’d mesh well.” The brunette seems to be looking anywhere but at Chloe. 

The redhead hides her hurt as quickly as she can, and before she can ask why Beca is so cruel, a car pulls up next to them.

“Well, that’s my Uber, so I’m going to go,” Beca says awkwardly.

“Goodnight, Beca.” Chloe’s voice is so soft she barely registers the words coming from her mouth.

Beca just nods and says, “Goodbye, Chloe.” The brunette gets in the car, and it pulls away, leaving Chloe shell shocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for coming along on this ride with me, it's been quite fun so far! I hope everyone's enjoying, feedback is always appreciated :)


	4. Chapter 4

In the weeks following Chloe’s big night at the Grammy’s, the pop star is thrown on every talk show conceivable. At this point, she’s pretty tired of seeing her face everywhere and can’t believe the fans don’t feel similarly. When she’s not on TV, she’s going viral doing things like eating hot wings. Whenever she complains about the constant interviews, her team tells her to, “Ride the wave while it’s here.” Or, “We need to keep the momentum behind your name.”

So she takes a deep breath and heads to yet another interview because her career comes first. The interviews are fun for the most part; Chloe talks about her album, avoids questions about her love life with coy smiles, and sings some of her lesser-known songs along the way. 

When she’s not in interviews, Chloe finds herself in meetings for her upcoming summer tour. After the public love for her Grammy’s performance, Chloe’s team decided that the tour needs to be just as big of a production. This means that they’ll need a lot of time to prepare, and rehearsals need to start as soon as humanly possible. That includes her opening acts. So on one Tuesday afternoon, her entire team sits down and decides that they can’t leave until they decide on openers.

They’ve been throwing around names for two hours, all of them being rejected for one reason or another. Chloe is frustrated and exhausted as yet another artist is “not the right fit,” whatever that means.

“What about The Strikes?” Chloe surprises herself with that suggestion. 

Her entire team slowly turns to just stare at her, and Chloe has to actively control her laughter from that moment of coordination. 

“The Strikes? Did I hear you correctly?” Jesse, Chloe’s publicist, still looks as if his client has suddenly grown a second head.

“Yeah, they’re trending in the right direction popularity-wise. The Strikes can bring a new dimension to the tour and maybe a new demographic, plus they’re amazing live.” Chloe’s confidence grows as she makes her argument.

Jesse looks at Chloe thoughtfully. She can see him work the idea over in his head before he says, “It could work for both of your images, you’ll give them a bigger platform, and they’ll add a level of depth.” He nods, “Yeah, that actually might work. Plus, they’re hot, and I mean that in every sense of the word.” Jesse smirks a little, and Chloe sees Aubrey go red out of the corner of her eye.

“Any objections to The Strikes?” Chloe addresses the room.

She takes their lack of response as no, but can still see the doubt in their eyes.

“Let’s at least ask them, and maybe it won’t work out. But we’ve been here for hours and haven’t come up with a better idea.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Aubrey clears her throat, still not fully recovered from earlier.

* * *

Beca’s life after winning a Grammy is surprisingly normal. She wasn’t sure what exactly she was expecting, but everything just goes back to normal. The brunette spends most days writing with Emily trying to get more ideas on paper for their EP. Occasionally, they’ll have band practices to try out new material, and The Strikes have some one-off charity gigs.

She’s settled back into a routine save for the fact that as hard as she tries, the brunette can’t seem to get Chloe Beale out of her head. It’s no help that every time Beca turns on the TV or opens YouTube, there’s Chloe’s face smiling back at her. She sighs and attempts to avoid the Chloe content, but inevitably watches the charming redhead. One afternoon, Beca is on the couch watching Chloe sing when Stacie gets home. 

“Did you see the group chat?” Stacie asks head already in the fridge, looking for something to eat.

“No, what’s up?” Beca doesn’t feel like checking for herself, and she doesn’t exactly know where her phone is.

“Jessica and Ashley called a band meeting,” Stacie calls, and Beca’s head whips around to look at her best friend.

Jessica and Ashley are The Strikes’ management team. The two women are married, and they handle every part of The Strikes from their image to their contracts. At this point, they’re basically additional members of the band. They rarely call official band meetings since they all hang out, so something big has to be happening.

“Are we in trouble? What did you do?” Beca tries to not let the slight anxiety show in her voice.

Stacie rolls her eyes at Beca before popping some leftovers she found in the microwave. “I didn’t do anything. Maybe you did something.”

“As if I’m the problem child of the band.”

“Right, sometimes I forget that whole broody rebellious thing is all just an act.” Stacie sticks her tongue out, and Beca makes a noise of protest. Stacie’s face goes entirely still and solemn, confusing Beca.

“What’s that face?”

“Do you think they’re going to have a baby?” Stacie says excitedly.

“I don’t know, dude, I don’t think they’d call a band meeting to announce that. They’d just tell us at game night or something.” 

“But I’d make such a good godmother,” Stacie whines a bit.

Beca rolls her eyes before saying, “I’m sure you will. You’ll just have to wait. When is this meeting anyway?”

“Tomorrow!” The microwave beeps and Beca knows she’s lost her best friend’s attention.

The next morning, Beca awakens to Stacie, who is shaking her.

“What the fuck, Stace?” She groggily glares at her friend, looming above her.

“It’s time to get ready for our band meeting.” Stacie’s smile is barely contained.

Beca groans and rolls over to look at the clock, “It’s seven in the morning.”

Stacie doesn’t even try to hide her smile this time, “Yeah, and we need to be at the label at eight. So let’s go grumpy.”

Beca glares at her again but gets up anyway. She mutters to herself about evil bandmates and stupid early meetings as she goes into the bathroom. Beca’s ready in record time, and Stacie rewards her with a hot cup of coffee. The shorter woman looks at her friend gratefully, and they leave for their meeting. 

The two brunettes are the last to arrive in the conference room. Jessica is seated at the head of the table. Her wife is leaning against the edge of the table, facing her as they chat. On one side of the table, Emily and their lead guitarist Flo are deep in conversation. Opposite them sits The Strikes’ drummer Lilly whose attention is entirely on her phone. The group looks up to greet Stacie and Beca, who quickly take their seats. Beca finds herself sitting at the end of the table opposite Jessica, who stands to greet the whole band.

“Thank you guys for all coming in; I know this is a bit early for some of you.” Jessica looks directly at Beca. The shorter brunette rolls her eyes in response while the rest of the band snickers at her. 

“We’ve asked you to come in because we received an offer that needs to be discussed by the whole group.” Ashley takes over, she pauses, and the anticipation has Beca on the edge of her seat. Ashley looks over to her wife, who continues,

“Chloe Beale’s team reached out, and they want you as one of the opening acts for her tour this summer.” Jessica looks around the room excitedly.

“Hell yes!” Stacie says, at the same time Beca goes,

“Yeah, no.”

Everyone’s eyes quickly switch back and forth between the two best friends until Ashley clears her throat to get their attention back.

“Before we make a decision, why don’t we go over the details?” 

Beca sulks, slouching in her seat as Jessica and Ashley go over the finer points of the opportunity. They’ve made a quick presentation for this, and even Beca has to admit it seems like a smart move for The Strikes’. That doesn’t mean she’s on board, though. 

“So, what do you think?” Jessica finishes the presentation and looks at Beca apprehensively.

“Why us?” Beca raises her eyebrows, “We aren’t exactly pop.”

“From what we understand, Chloe is trying to add dimensionality to her tour.” Ashley’s response is measured.

“So, we’re making her edgier?” Beca can’t help but sneer a bit.

“This is a big opportunity for us Becs, I think we’d be stupid to pass up a tour of this scale.” Stacie cuts in, giving her best friend a serious look.

“How does everyone else feel?” Beca asks, hoping for some support.

“I think we could benefit from such a large audience, and the production value could help us improve our live chemistry,” Emily is timid. Still, Beca can see the conviction in her eyes. 

Lilly speaks up next; she speaks quickly and quietly and ends with a thumbs up. Even though Beca can only understand every other word, she knows that Lilly thinks they should do the tour too. Beca’s heart sinks as she turns to her last hope, Flo.

“At this point in our career, this is the right thing to do. We’re on the cusp, and I want us to take off.” Flo says confidently. Beca’s gaze flits around the room full of guilty looking faces. She sighs in defeat and the tension breaks.

“Alright, we’ll at least try,” Beca says.

Emily and Stacie both squeal in delight, while Jessica and Ashley give Beca grateful looks. 

Ashley claps her hands and says, “Great, let’s go get brunch!”

She receives a chorus of cheers in response, and the band files out of the conference room excited for late morning mimosas.

* * *

Chloe is a little shocked when Aubrey calls to inform her The Strikes want to meet. They set a date, and Chloe spends more time than she’ll admit thinking about if The Strikes will actually open for her. She’d assumed that Beca Mitchell would flat out reject the offer without giving Chloe a second thought. In the days leading up to the meeting, Chloe’s mind often wanders to The Strikes’ bassist. Something about Beca piques Chloe’s curiosity.

On the day of the meeting, Chloe spends a little too much time trying to choose an outfit. After around an hour, she’s finally settled on a chunky cream-colored sweater, dark wash skinny jeans, and a trusty pair of converse. When she checks her phone and realizes she’s going to be five minutes late. She rushes into the conference room where they’re meeting an apology on her lips. Before she can say anything, Beca snarks,

“The princess has arrived, we can begin.”

Stacie smacks Beca and gives her a look, while Chloe composes herself. 

“Sorry, y’all! Busy morning.” Chloe gives them a smile as she takes her seat.

Aubrey gives Chloe a nod before getting everyone’s attention. Chloe’s team goes over the finer details of the tour and The Strikes’ role. As the meeting continues, Chloe takes the time to look around the room. Everyone looks excited about the prospect of the tour except for Beca. Chloe spends a significant portion of the meeting, taking in every detail of Beca. Her eyes are a brighter blue than they were at the club, and Chloe can’t help but wonder what her smile looks like. There’s a sour look on the brunette’s face, and Beca is slumping lower and lower in her chair as time goes on. The presentation ends, and Chloe watches as Beca surveys the eager looks on her bandmate’s faces. The Strikes agree to join Chloe’s tour, and she can’t contain her excitement. Chloe gains confidence from the encouraging smiles on her team’s faces until the pop star turns to Beca, and tries not to let her excitement die. Something about Beca’s disdain hits Chloe especially hard. She swallows those emotions and talks excitedly with the other band members. Aubrey interrupts, letting Chloe know it’s time to get to her next interview. Chloe says goodbye to the group and heads out for yet another talk show.

* * *

After the meeting with Chloe’s team, Beca knows her fight is already lost. So she takes in the excitement around her and makes a vague effort not to bring them all down. They all enter the elevator when Stacie asks,

“So, lunch?”

Everyone makes noises of assent, and they head to a cafe they all like nearby. They’re seated at a relatively secluded table near the back, and the waiter brings by water for everyone. The band puts in their orders, and while they’re waiting, Jessica takes a deep breath before turning to Beca,

“So, Beca. You know we love you. And we all love the band, and we know this isn’t what you wanted to do. But-”

“-You need to stop being such a raging bitch.” Stacie cuts in. 

“Well, I wasn’t going to put it quite like that.” Jessica winces a bit.

“It’s the truth.” Stacie shrugs. No one says anything else for a moment until Beca sighs.

“Look, I know you’re all excited about this. So I’ll try harder.” She grumbles.

The table seems to collectively exhale, and Beca rolls her eyes at their relief. They all move on, and the food arrives not long after. The band eats and starts planning for the tour. Beca tunes out as they begin discussing the setlist and mulls over the situation in her head. It seems that she can’t escape Chloe Beale, so she decides to try to ignore or avoid her whenever possible. Not being overtly rude, just limiting interaction. 

Lunch is coming to an end, and Beca realizes she hasn’t been paying attention for a long time. 

“Wait, when’s our first rehearsal?” Beca asks.

Everyone turns to Beca with different levels of confusion and amusement. Emily puts Beca out of her misery,

“Tomorrow!” The youngest member of the band’s voice is enthusiastic. 

Beca grunts in response, not at all looking forward to the months-long rehearsals for the tour. They all finish their meals, Jessica and Ashely sort out the payments while Beca continues to stew in silence. The Strikes and their managers leave the cafe and say their goodbyes. It’s quickly just Beca and Stacie, who rolls her eyes at Beca before gesturing vaguely in the direction of Beca’s car. The two best friends head home in silence save for the radio. At one point, Chloe’s song Butterflies comes on, and Beca immediately changes the station. Stacie rolls her eyes again but refrains from commenting. 

They return to their apartment and into separate rooms. Beca takes a long nap and wakes up to eat dinner. She spends more time thinking about the tour and about how great Chloe Beale looks in casual clothes. Before she even realizes, Beca is humming a tune and hearing lyrics in her head. She heads back into her bedroom and starts working on the song that just appeared in her mind. After a while, Beca hears her phone buzz, and she searches around for the device. She finds it somewhere in the blankets on her bed and notices it’s nearly two in the morning.

There’s a text from an unknown number saying,

“Hi, is this Beca?”

Beca narrows her eyes, suspicious of the message. “Who’s asking.” She types back.

“Oh! It’s Chloe!” The stranger replies. A moment passes, and Beca gets another message, “Chloe Beale, that is.” Beca doesn’t respond, and after a pause, she receives a third text, “Aubrey got me your number off the tour contact sheet.”

“Okay.” Beca finally responds.

A few minutes pass, and Beca watches the typing bubble appear and disappear a few times. Finally, she gets another message,

“Listen, I know you don’t like me for whatever reason… But we’re going to be on tour together, and that means a lot of time spent together. So, can we please try to get along?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love forcing these two together! I hope y'all are liking the story so far - let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

Beca wakes up for the first day of tour rehearsals to the smell of coffee and the sound of Stacie moving around their kitchen. She grabs her phone and scrolls through social media to give herself a little more time to wakeup. Beca’s stomach growls, and she decides she can’t stay in bed any longer. As she walks into the bathroom, Beca stretches and hears a few of her joints pop. She gets ready for the day, taking a quick shower, and then heads back into her room to find an outfit. Beca picks out some black jeans and an old t-shirt from college, then follows the mouthwatering smells emanating from the kitchen.

Stacie looks up to watch as Beca pads into the kitchen, “It’s alive!”

Beca rolls her eyes at her friend, “Very funny.” She deadpans.

“I’m just saying I’m surprised I didn’t have to wake you up.” Stacie smiles and slides a hot cup of coffee towards Beca before turning her attention back to their breakfast.

Beca takes a sip of the coffee, “Mmm… So good. Thanks, Stace.”

Stacie smiles in return and plates their breakfast.

The shorter brunette raises her eyebrows, “Omelets? Wow, you’re pulling out all the stops.”

“It’s a big day.” Stacie shrugs then sits down at the breakfast bar.

They eat in companionable silence until it’s time to leave. 

“Is it weird that I’m sort of nervous about this?” Stacie asks, her eyes shifting around the room.

“Nah, I am too. But we got this. C’mon nerd.” Beca motions towards the door with her head. 

They head out to Beca’s car and drive to the address Jessica sent them last night. Along the way, the best friends sing along to the radio and relax before the long day ahead. After about forty minutes, they pull up outside a large warehouse. The bandmates sit for a moment, mentally preparing themselves when Emily knocks on Beca’s window.

Beca opens the door and gets out, “Shit Em, you scared the hell out of me.” The older girl exhales.

“Sorry! I’m just so excited!” Emily is practically vibrating. 

“It’s okay, kid. Me too. This is more exciting than that one time those fraternal twins-” Stacie begins.

“-Stop right there. I do not want to hear the end of that story.” Beca gives her best friend a playful glare.

Stacie pretends to zip her lips and skips towards the door.

“Stupid long legs,” Beca mutters to herself as she attempts to catch up.

The three women open the warehouse door to reveal the hustle and bustle of people preparing for the day. One group of people is finishing setting up a large stage, lighting and sound equipment is everywhere, and everyone seems to be moving around with purpose. Beca pauses as she takes in the organized chaos in front of her.

“Welcome to the big leagues, I guess.” She mumbles to her friends.

Unsure where to go, they take a tentative step forward. An energetic looking guy who Beca vaguely recognizes approaches them,

“Hey! I’m Jesse, Chloe’s publicist.” His smile is so wide Beca wonders if his cheeks hurt. “Let me show you ladies to the lounge.” He says brightly before turning on his heel.

The bandmates have no choice but to follow him, narrowly avoiding running into crew members along the way. They arrive at a set of couches surrounding a table with a bowl of jelly beans on it. Flo and Lilly are already sitting, and they smile as the rest of the band approaches. 

“Okay, Strikes, we should be getting started soon. You can just wait here for now.” Jesse says before leaving them alone.

“Where are J and A?” Beca asks, flopping onto the couch across from Flo and Lilly.

“They went with that blonde lady, something about finalizing paperwork.” Flo answers.

“Oh, Aubrey’s here?” Stacie smirks.

The Strikes continue to chat until one of the crew members comes over to get them. They’re instructed to get on stage and then asked to wait while the sound engineer comes back. 

After a few minutes, Beca is too bored just waiting, so she starts to play the bassline from Bad Guy by Billie Eilish. Lilly picks up the song immediately, adding in the kick drum. Stacie bops her head along, feeling the rhythm before coming in with the opening verse. The rest of the band adds backup vocals, Flo and Emily snap in time with the beat while they continue through the chorus. Stacie punctuates the end of the hook with a playful “duh,” and Emily launches into the synth section. They continue through the song, having fun, and getting comfortable on the stage. When The Strikes finish the song, the crew applauds, and they all laugh.

The sound engineer arrives, and rehearsal starts in earnest. The Strikes learn a lot about their live sound; the crew often swaps their equipment as they refine the production. Beca is surprised she can actually see how they’re evolving and getting better, and it’s only been a few hours. They receive tips from Chloe’s live band, who have all been in the industry for years and watch videos of themselves to see what the audience sees. Throughout the whole day, Beca only gets a few glimpses of Chloe, and she can’t help but wonder what the pop star is up to. It’s a successful first day, and Beca is both excited and exhausted by the end. 

During the car ride home, Beca and Stacie talk excitedly about the day’s events and ideas they have for their performance. Bad Guy comes on the radio, and they laugh before singing along wholeheartedly. When they get back to their apartment, Beca turns to Stacie,

“I’m not positive you were right yet. But I do think today was productive, and maybe it might be the right move after all.”

Stacie smiles, and before she can say anything, Beca cuts in, “Don’t you dare say I told you so.”

She receives a smirk in response.

* * *

Chloe shows up early for the first day of tour rehearsal to find The Strikes doing an impromptu cover of Bad Guy. She smiles, watching the band enjoy themselves on stage, and can’t help but be impressed by how easily they play together. It’s a great way to start her morning, and she’s enthusiastic going into the rest of her day.

It turns out the rest of her day consists of the most demanding dance rehearsals Chloe has ever been to. The choreographers have outdone themselves, and Chloe regrets thinking her Grammy’s performance was difficult. They make it through one number; Chloe has learned all the moves, but can’t always do them fast enough, before a late lunch.

Over lunch, Chloe meets her other opening act, Cynthia Rose. Chloe quickly learns she prefers to be called CR, and they bond over their love for macaroni and cheese. They get to know each other, and Chloe discovers that CR used to be in the army. Chloe is fascinated by CR’s life story and is excited to get to know her better over the coming months.

Every so often, Chloe will look for The Strikes and can’t stop herself from watching Beca work. Their conversation last night was slightly awkward, but Chloe hopes it means they can be friends. Something about the bassist pulls Chloe in, and she wants to know everything about Beca. She’s watching The Strikes try another song when she has an idea.

Chloe turns towards Aubrey, “I want to do a cover with The Strikes.”

Aubrey seems to think for a moment, “Yeah, that could be good. You should do one with CR too.” The blonde appears more absentminded than usual.

Chloe follows her best friend’s gaze to discover that Aubrey is watching Stacie, singing seductively onstage. “She’s pretty hot.”

“Yeah.” Aubrey’s voice is almost dreamy, and Chloe can’t help but laugh.

Aubrey seems to come back to herself and turns a shade of bright red. The manager makes some excuses about paperwork and walks away, leaving a laughing Chloe behind.

The next day Chloe suggests that she do a song with The Strikes, and she soon finds herself being pulled on stage. Chloe throws out a few suggestions for songs they could try, and they play through each of them. Each song is fun, but Chloe feels they’re all missing something she can’t put her finger on. 

“What about The Chain?” Beca says once they finish their most recent attempt.

“By Fleetwood Mac?” Chloe asks.

“Is there any other?” Beca retorts, but there’s less bite in her voice than before.

“Let’s give it a whirl!” Chloe says before nodding to Flo.

* * *

They’re about an hour into trying songs with Chloe, and Beca keeps catching herself staring at the pop star. Chloe’s voice is clear, bright, and something about it resonates in Beca’s chest. A few times, the bassist almost gets lost in Chloe’s voice and nearly misses a note. The songs they’re playing are good, but Beca thinks they can do better. She suggests one of her favorite Fleetwood Mac songs, and everyone seems enthusiastic about the idea. 

They launch into the song, and if Beca thought Chloe’s voice was distracting before it’s reached a new level. The redhead slots into Stevie Nicks’ part perfectly, and her performance is captivating. Beca shakes her head to try to concentrate on her part but continues to watch as Stacie and Chloe sing to each other. Flo absolutely kills the guitar solo, and Beca is entirely in the zone as the song comes to an end. For a moment, they all just look at each other in slight disbelief. Then the crew starts to clap and cheer around them, and Chloe pulls Stacie into an exaggerated bow. Beca smiles, still riding the high of the song.

“That was definitely it,” Chloe says.

“We can clean it up a little and try some things.” The sound engineer informs them, already moving around.

They play through the song a few more times, sometimes stopping for more subtle changes and suggestions. The Chain is electric to Beca, and the chemistry between The Strikes is getting even better. Chloe and Stacie’s voices balance well, and Beca truly believes they’re doing the song justice. 

When they arrive home, Beca makes a beeline for her room to start working on a song idea she had. She’s hunched over her songwriting notebook when she remembers her promise to be nicer to Chloe and the awkward text conversation from earlier in the week. Beca picks up her phone with a sigh and types out a text to Chloe. “Today was really cool. Glad you sang with us.”

* * *

Chloe’s phone buzzes with a text, groaning a little, she blindly feels around the side table. After multiple days of dance rehearsals, Chloe is sore everywhere. She finds her phone and is surprised to see a message from Beca about their rehearsal earlier. The redhead taps out a response, “I had so much fun! Thank you for suggesting The Chain, it’s perfect!” Instead of responding, Beca likes her message, and Chloe puts her phone back on the table next to her.

The next day during rehearsal, Chloe suggests a team dinner, and Aubrey agrees to set one up for Friday. She makes it through the rest of the week, learning more choreography and sharpening the numbers she already knows. Chloe is grateful to be in dance rehearsals instead of the constant interviews, but her body highly disagrees. She’s not out of shape, but the choreographers are working her harder than ever before. 

Friday comes sooner than Chloe expected, and they head out to dinner. Aubrey reserved them a private room at a trendy restaurant, and a few people recognize Chloe as they head to the back of the building. She stops to take selfies with a few people and is the last to arrive at the table. Chloe finds an empty seat and slides into it; she’s between Stacie and CR with Beca across from her. 

Chloe spends the dinner alternating between participating in the conversation and covertly watching Beca. She learns that The Strikes met in college, but Stacie and Beca knew each other from high school. Chloe tells them about how she and Aubrey met in college and their experience as National Collegiate A Capella champions. The group makes fun of them for being such nerds in college, and Aubrey defends their choices. CR shares more about her time as part of the army, and they’re all fascinated by her stories.

Aubrey is on Stacie’s other side, and as dinner progresses, Chloe notices many casual touches. They’re also slowly moving closer together, and Chloe smiles a bit. Beca catches her eye, looks pointedly at Aubrey and Stacie, then rolls her eyes; Chloe fails to suppress her laughter. Everyone turns to her, and Chloe can feel the heat rise in her cheeks.

“It’s nothing.” She mumbles. Across the table, Beca smirks at her.

After dinner, someone suggests they head to a nearby club, and the group agrees enthusiastically. Before they exit the restaurant, Chloe makes sure to leave a hefty tip. The group walks down the street and into a club. They’re greeted by throbbing bass and flashing lights. Emily gets stopped at the door; the bouncer asks for her ID. Her bandmates tease her, and Chloe gives the younger girl a sympathetic smile. The group continues through the club, making their way towards the VIP section. Chloe just has to smile at the bouncer before they’re allowed in. Aubrey disappears to set up bottle service for their group, and they all settle in a big booth. Chloe is the last to slide in, next to Emily. They all drink and chat until Flo suggests they dance.

Chloe is slightly tipsy as they make their way to the dance floor. The group is dancing together, and Chloe admires how well everyone moves. Stacie and Aubrey are dancing close together to her left, and Chloe is willing to bet they’ll go home together tonight. 

“I’m starting to think that’s the same blonde Stacie was with at the Grammy’s party.” A voice says from behind her shoulder.

Chloe turns to see Beca, who is smirking at the couple in question. Their faces are inches apart, and Chloe notes that Beca’s eyes are sparkling. Beca’s looking at her expectantly, and Chloe realizes she forgot to answer. “Bree is definitely that blonde.” Chloe’s voice comes out a little husky because her throat is dry from the dancing.

Beca’s eyes darken a bit before answering, “Well, they’ll be fun to go on tour with.”

Chloe nods in agreement.

The DJ’s voice comes over the speakers, “This next song is for Chloe.” She’s slightly surprised and cringes during the next moment of silence. She’s relieved when the song the DJ plays isn’t one of her own, but heat immediately rushes to her face when she realizes what song it is. Aubrey is looking over and smirking at her, and Chloe tries not to glare back.

“David Guetta fan, huh?” Beca looks surprised.

“I don’t live under a rock,” Chloe responds. 

They start dancing together, and Chloe can just make out Beca’s voice singing along to the music. She tries not to actively think about how one of her favorite lady jams is playing and closes her eyes to dance along. When the song ends, Chloe opens her eyes, and Beca is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the lovely comments and feedback so far! I hope you like the story, it's great to hear what everyone thinks so I would love to hear more thoughts! Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Somehow Beca is dancing with Chloe Beale again. She’s lost in the music and in Chloe’s moving body. The pop star is entirely captivating, and Beca realizes her plan to avoid Chloe is crumbling before her eyes. Chloe overwhelms Beca’s senses until it feels like all that’s left in the world is Chloe, Beca, and the music. The DJ starts playing a David Guetta song that Beca is surprised Chloe knows. They’re dancing, and Beca is singing, and Chloe’s eyes are closed, and it’s just too much. Beca uses Chloe’s distraction to escape. She runs away from the dance floor and doesn’t stop until she’s out of the club.

Beca leans against the outside of the club and takes a moment to catch her breath. There are a few people outside chatting and smoking. Beca approaches one of the women and bums a cigarette off her. Once her cigarette is lit, Beca retreats to lean against the wall of the club. She can still hear pounding bass coming from inside as she smokes and thinks about Chloe. 

As if thinking about her summoned her, Chloe’s voice comes from Beca’s left,

“I’m having a serious case of deja vu.” Chloe’s hands are on her hips, and she’s frowning. The pop star approaches, and her face wrinkles as she registers the cigarette in Beca’s hand, “Smoking is bad for you, you know.”

Beca has the decency to grimace, “Yeah, I know. I quit years ago, just a weak moment.” She puts out the cigarette and throws the butt out. 

“Why’d you leave?”

Beca sighs, “It was just hot in there. I needed out.”

Chloe doesn’t say anything, and for a moment, they’re just staring at each other. The redhead is making a face Beca can’t quite decipher, but soon she’s smiling again.

“Want to get out of here?” Chloe asks.

* * *

Chloe doesn’t know what made her ask, but before she knows it, the question spills out of her mouth. There is a pause, and Chloe starts rambling,

“I didn’t mean that like sexually or whatever. I just meant like we could go somewhere else if you’re not having fun at the club. There’s this great ice cream place I know, and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, or anything is all.”

Another moment passes before Beca puts her hands in her pockets and says, “Ice cream sounds good.”

Chloe smiles, “Great, it’s just this way.”

They walk in companionable silence for a while, enjoying the evening when Chloe shivers a bit. Beca looks over and takes off her jacket offering it to Chloe.

“But then you’ll be cold.” Chloe points out.

“I’ll be alright. I run hot,” Beca answers with a shrug, thrusting the jacket towards Chloe again. 

Chloe takes the jacket and gives Beca a grateful smile. As she puts the jacket on, Chloe is engulfed in a clean, citrusy smell that she has learned to associate with Beca. She likes the idea of being wrapped up in the bassist, and Chloe smiles cheerfully. 

They finally reach the ice cream shop, and as they enter, a bell jingles. The teenage girl behind the counter immediately recognizes Chloe,

“Hey, Chloe! How are you?”

“Hi, Liv. I’m good, how about you? Busy night?” Chloe smiles brightly.

“Not too bad. Who’s your friend?” 

Chloe looks at Beca to find the other girl is looking between her and Liv rapidly as if there’s a tennis match. 

“This is Beca, Beca, that’s Liv, the master of all things ice cream.”

Liv blushes from behind the counter, “Nice to meet you, Liv.” Beca sounds more friendly than Chloe has ever heard.

“What can I get you two?” Liv asks.

Chloe orders her usual rocky road, and Beca opts for a caramel apple sundae that makes Chloe’s mouth water on sight. They sit down at one of the tall tables in the empty shop. Chloe has a few spoonfuls of her own ice cream before she reaches across the table and scoops up some of Beca’s sundae.

“Hey, you have your own!” Beca doesn’t look too mad, so Chloe steals another spoonful.

Beca rolls her eyes before reaching over and trying some of Chloe’s rocky road. Chloe hums happily because Beca’s sundae tastes just as good as it looked. 

“So, are you excited about this tour?”

Chloe sighs a bit and thinks before she answers Beca.

“Well, that’s not a great sign.” Beca deadpans.

“No, it’s just nervewracking. This is my first big tour, and I want it to go well. We’ve been working so hard in dance rehearsals, and I think the show will be really cool as a whole. I’m going to miss the smaller venues, though, the intimacy of the crowd. Performing is magical, but this is all for the fans, and I wish I could meet every single one of them. Sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble about it.”

Beca shakes her head as if clearing her thoughts, “No, I get it. No offense, but I didn’t realize you were that connected to your fans.”

“I love my fans! Some of them have come to so many shows they feel like old friends. They’re so funny and supportive of me on social media. I know I wouldn’t be anywhere without them.” Chloe smiles brightly.

Beca looks at her thoughtfully for a moment before they return to their ice cream. They empty their cups over a light conversation, and Chloe steals a few more bites of Beca’s sundae. When they finish, Beca gathers both of their cups to throw them away, and Chloe checks the time.

“Shoot, I have to get up early for some meetings. I better get home.”

Chloe thinks she sees Beca’s face fall for a second before returning to a neutral, impossible to read expression. Chloe orders an Uber, and they make their way outside to wait.

“Thanks, Liv!” Chloe calls over her shoulder.

“Have a good night!” The teenager responds as the door closes behind Beca and Chloe.

A car pulls up at the curb, and Chloe confirms it’s her ride home.

“Well, this was fun. I hope we get to do it again. Goodnight, Beca.” Chloe moves into Beca’s space and softly brushes her lips against Beca’s cheek. She smiles, then gets into the car to head home for the night.

* * *

Beca wakes up to the smell of breakfast and a lingering tingling sensation on her cheek. She sighs at herself and buries the memory of Chloe being so close. Beca stretches, and her stomach growls. Groaning, she gets out of bed and heads towards the kitchen. She’s greeted by the sight of Stacie flipping pancakes wearing a cheesy kiss the chef apron Beca got her one year for her birthday. Beca smells cinnamon and looks at her best friend,

“Those are your better than sex pancakes.”

“Astute observations. Only took you years of friendship.” 

Beca rolls her eyes before narrowing them at her friend, “Who are you trying to impress?”

At that moment, Beca hears footsteps approaching. Stacie gives her a look, and she backs off the topic for now. Beca turns around to see Chloe’s manager Aubrey wearing one of Stacie’s old high school t-shirts, hair still messed up from last night.

“Good morning!” Stacie gives the blonde a wide smile.

“Hello Beca, I didn’t know you would be here,” Aubrey says.

“What? I live here.” Beca says slowly.

Aubrey rolls her eyes at that, “Yes, I’m aware. I was under the impression you don’t get out of bed until the afternoon.”

“She’s not wrong, Becs,” Stacie cuts in, throwing a wink at Aubrey. “But when I’m making my special pancakes, Beca will get up at any hour.”

“And what makes these pancakes so special?” Aubrey’s voice is teasing.

“Gross, can you two stop flirting while I’m here?” That statement earns Beca a glare from Aubrey.

The three of them make it through breakfast with stilted bouts of conversation. Once they finish, Beca offers to clean up. Mostly so she doesn’t have to witness the other two women flirting anymore. Stacie and Aubrey retreat to Stacie’s room and Beca pulls out her phone. She types out, “Look who I just had the most awkward breakfast with.” and attaches a photo she’d sneakily taken earlier.

* * *

Chloe can’t keep the smile off her face as she and Beca talk about how their best friends hooking up. If she’s honest, she hasn’t seen Aubrey look that happy and relaxed in a long time, and she’s happy for her best friend. Making fun of them with Beca is just a display of affection. 

“What’s got you so smiley?” Jesse asks.

Chloe’s head snaps up, and she realizes she hasn’t been paying attention to what he’s been saying for the past few minutes.

“Sorry, just a funny picture.”

Chloe places her phone screen down on the table and gives Jesse her full attention. He continues talking about her image and how all the post Grammy interviews have generated a lot of hype. They need to announce the tour soon, and Jesse runs her through a few options of how they might do so. Chloe chooses a special digital scavenger hunt since it seems the most interactive for her fans. 

As the meeting seems to be ending, Jesse starts looking slightly guilty.

“There’s one last thing.” He says.

Chloe raises her eyebrows. She’s a bit apprehensive but trusts her team entirely, “What’s up?”

“We need you to be in a relationship.”

“Seriously?” Chloe has gone on a few dates that her team set up a few times. But they’ve never explicitly asked her to date someone. 

“Yeah, it’s just, the exposure would be great for the tour. It’s about keeping momentum right now, and people love celebrity couples.”

“So, I don’t even get to pick who I date?”

“Well, I have some options for you to look through here.”

Jesse hands her a folder that contains a few photos. She recognizes most of them from one event or the other.

“Why aren’t there any women here?” Chloe asks.

Jesse winces, “We just thought that a more, um, conventional couple would be better for boosting tour type.”

Chloe swallows her shock at her team and tries to speak calmly, “Jesse, I’ve been out as bisexual publicly for almost a year now. We aren’t going back.”

Jesse violently shakes his head, “No, not at all.” He takes a deep breath, “Look, Chlo, unfortunately, there are still a lot of people who won’t buy concert tickets if you’re openly dating a woman. This is your first big tour, and the label is pouring a ton of money into it. We need to show them that you’re worth the investment. Which means selling out or being close to selling out every night. You don’t need to actually date the guy. Just go on a few public dates, so there are photos of you out there. The rumor mill and the internet will do the rest. We won’t even have to comment because everyone will assume.”

Chloe sighs in defeat and slumps in her chair, “Okay, how about this guy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm loving all the comments so far, and always like to see what y'all think so please let me know! Hope everyone likes this chapter :)


	7. Chapter 7

As band rehearsals continue, they become more and more exhausting. In the quest for perfection, it feels as if every single note is picked apart each time they play. Beca is exhausted at the end of each day and feeling creatively drained too. Emily tries to keep the band’s morale up by bringing different pastries as quickly as she can bake them. Not even Emily’s special chocolate cookies can soften the blow of the news they get on Thursday. Jessica approaches them at the end of a long session, looking apprehensive. Her eyes flit between the different band members before she focuses on Emily,

“So, I have some news.”

Beca suppresses her groan and waits for Jessica to continue. When none of the bandmates say anything, Jessica inhales then continues,

“You’re going to be part of a big dance number. With Chloe and CR.”

Beca’s eyes nearly bulge out of her head, “We’re doing a what?!”

Jessica doesn’t make eye contact, “Everyone has to participate except for Lilly because she’ll be sitting at the drums.” 

Beca glares back at Lilly, who sticks her tongue out in response.

“Wait for a second, I have to do the dance with my bass?” Beca drops her face into her hands. 

“Yes. You’re coming out during the latter half of Chloe’s set, and you’re playing Upside Down with her. Beca and Flo, you’ll be dancing with your instruments, Stacie and Em, you’re going to sing with Chloe. Dance rehearsals start tomorrow.” Jessica doesn’t leave them any room for argument.

“But tomorrow is Friday, can’t we start next week?” Flo looks just as enthused at the idea of dancing with her instrument as Beca feels.

“Sorry, but you have to get started ASAP.” Jessica gets pulled away by someone from Chloe’s team, and The Strikes start to put their equipment away for the night. Stacie is wrapping a cable next to Beca, and she leans over to bump her friend in the shoulder. 

“At least all those dance classes are going to come in handy.”

Stacie smirks down at her friend, “Who says they haven’t already? This ass don’t quit.”

Beca laughs and rolls her eyes.

They finish packing up their equipment and head out for the night. Beca tries to go to bed early in anticipation of the exercise the next day but can’t stop tossing and turning. She replays the moment Chloe kissed her cheek over and over, trying to decide if it was a platonic move or not.

“Ugh, she’s probably straight.” Beca almost shouts to herself.

“Who is?” Stacie is leaning against Beca’s doorframe, and Beca jumps at the sound of her voice.

“Dude, knock or something next time. I don’t need a heart attack.” 

Stacie shrugs, “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were that deep in thought. I assumed you’d hear me coming.” She then walks into Beca’s room and flops down on her bed. When Beca doesn’t say anything, she asks again,

“So, who’s probably straight?”

Beca sighs, “No one.”

“Didn’t sound like no one.”

“Okay fine, someone.”

“Someone named Chloe Beale?” Stacie’s tone isn’t precisely teasing, but it’s close.

Beca pauses for a moment, “What makes you think that?”

“We have thin walls, and I’ve heard you playing Chloe’s music pretty often.”

“We’re going on tour with her. Of course, I’m listening to her music.”

“Still, I think there’s more to it. Either way, she’s bi.” Beca can hear the smirk on Stacie’s face without turning to look at her.

“And how would you know?”

“Because I’m not dumb, and she came out like a year ago. Which you would know if you’d ever watch E! News with me.”

Beca blindly reaches to smack her friend and hits Stacie’s thigh, “I’m not watching that garbage with you. Stop asking me.” 

Stacie just laughs, getting up from the bed and sauntering out of Beca’s room, “I’ll leave you to stew on this realization.”

Beca has half a mind to grab a pillow and follow Stacie out of the room so she can smack her roommate with it. Laziness wins out, and instead grabs her phone to google “Chloe Beale Sexuality.” She reads a few articles and watches a video of Chloe talking about being bisexual. Beca is shocked she hadn’t known, and now the cheek kiss seems even less friendly than before. On a whim, she texts Chloe, “So now you have me in dance rehearsals? That’s pretty cold of you, Beale.” Beca puts her phone down and prepares for a night of restless sleep.

Dance rehearsal the next day makes Beca miss the exhausting sessions they were doing previously. She’s never been good at picking up choreography quickly, and she grumbles throughout the day. Her bandmates seem to be faring better; Lilly is in the corner, taking videos and laughing at Beca. Stacie isn’t even breaking a sweat. Flo moves just as naturally as the professional dancers, even with her guitar, and Emily keeps up.

“I don’t get it, you have giraffe limbs, and you’re still doing better than me,” Beca mutters to Emily.

Everyone laughs because Beca wasn’t as quiet as she thought she was, and the choreographer rolls his eyes. Eventually, Beca starts to feel more comfortable in executing the moves in time until she learns they’re only a third of the way through the dance. The moves start to get more complex, and The Strikes are reassured that there will be plenty more dance rehearsals for them to nail the choreography down. Beca can’t smother her noise of disgust at the prospect of more dance rehearsals, and the room laughs again. 

That night Beca collapses on their couch because she can’t make it to her room. Stacie rolls her eyes before going to find a takeout menu to order them some dinner. Beca is scrolling mindlessly through Twitter when her phone buzzes with a text from Chloe, “Heard you were a problem child in your dance rehearsal today.” She types out, “These reports have been greatly exaggerated. But would you expect anything less?” Beca contemplates adding the angrily exhaling emoji but decides against it before sending off her message. Chloe’s response comes seconds later, “I suppose not.” with a winking face.

* * *

Chloe drops her phone into her bag as her date returns from the bathroom. He’s a young basketball player named Donald, who Jesse informed her is a rising star in the league. They’re at a trendy sushi restaurant Jesse picked for them, and overall it’s been a decent date. Donald is cute and charming enough. The whole night Chloe finds herself thinking about Beca, though, so much so that she texted the bassist as soon as Donald got up from the table. They’ve finished dinner, and Donald insists on getting the check. 

They exit the restaurant, and the driver Jesse got for the night is already at the curb. Once they’re next to the car, Chloe turns around to wish Donald a good night.

“So, this was really fun!” Chloe says, slightly playing up her excitement.

Donald nods, “Yeah, we’ll have to do it again.”

Then he leans down and closes his eyes. Chloe internally panics for a moment and thinks about turning her cheek, but she hears a click in the background. Reminding herself she’s being watched, she kisses Donald, it’s soft and gentle, but Chloe doesn’t feel anything. There are more clicks, and Chloe knows they must have gotten the money shot. They say good night again, and Chloe gets into the car.

When she gets home, Chloe pours herself a glass of wine and sits down on her couch. She turns on the TV to a cooking competition and opens her phone to scroll through social media. Her mentions are on fire, and the photo of her kissing Donald is everywhere. There are captions like “Chloe Beale’s Heart Stolen by Dunkin’ Donald?” and “Power Couple Alert!” Her fans seem receptive, and she’s already gained a few hundred more followers on Instagram. Chloe scrolls through some of the coverage before deciding to put her phone down for the night. Right as she’s about to give her full attention to the TV, a text from Jesse arrives, “Great job Chlo, this is exactly what we’re looking for!”

* * *

Beca finally rolls out of bed around noon on Saturday and lazily opens one of her social media apps. She’s immediately inundated with tweets about Chloe and some guy named Donald. After clicking around a bit, Beca finds a photo of them kissing outside a restaurant that was taken last night. The image affects Beca in a way she can’t quite put her finger on, and she immediately clicks away from it. 

She wonders why Chloe hasn’t mentioned this guy before muttering to herself, 

“She doesn’t owe you anything, idiot. She didn’t have a reason to tell you.”

Beca decides that she and Chloe are on their way to friendship and that she needs to drop her fixation with Chloe. No more overanalyzing of cheek kisses or winking emojis. They’ll go on tour together and have fun, but there’s nothing more to their relationship. Beca’s still feeling that pull in the pit of her stomach since she saw the photo and decides to filter out #chonald to aid in her efforts. Just because they’re friends doesn’t mean Beca has to see Chloe’s relationship.

The next week tests Beca’s will more than she expected. Chloe joins them in dance rehearsals, and Beca can’t keep her eyes off the pop star for very long. She’s reminded of them dancing close together before, and having Chloe directly in front of her does not help. Beca fantasizes about reaching out and touching the skin on Chloe’s back, where her tank top has ridden up. One time Stacie catches her staring and raises her eyebrows at her best friend. Beca just shakes her head and tries to concentrate on the choreography.

During one of their breaks, Beca is looking for food, opening doors at random. She still hasn’t learned the rehearsal space’s layout, so she’s just taking a gamble. Beca is about to open another door when she hears a voice singing behind it. She pauses for a moment and listens closer; she can make out the sound of a guitar being softly strummed along with the singer. Beca hears someone coming around the corner and opens the door, so she doesn’t seem like a creep. Inside is a surprised looking Chloe Beale. Beca smiles awkwardly before saying, 

“Hey sorry… Um… Your song sounded really good.” She winces, “Okay, I’ll let you get back to it.” She closes the door and leans against it groaning. Chloe just looked at her the whole time, making the interaction that much worse. 

Beca sighs before pushing off the door returning to her quest for food. She’s humming absentmindedly and realizes it’s actually Chloe’s song from before.

* * *

The door closes, and Chloe lays down on the floor with a groan. She never shares her songs in the early stages, and now Beca Mitchell has heard this one. Chloe curses the universe in her head because it could’ve been anyone, but it had to be Beca. She tries to return to writing, but her focus is gone, and she keeps glancing up at the door as if Beca will appear there again. The break ends, and Chloe returns to rehearsals.

After a long day of singing and dancing, Donald picks Chloe up for another dinner date. She’s tired, and grateful Donald doesn’t push for a conversation in the car. After exchanging greetings, they lapse into silence save for the sports radio in the background. They pull up in front of another trendy restaurant, french themed this time. Donald hands his keys to a valet, and they head inside.

The food is delicious, and Chloe does her best to get to know Donald better despite her exhaustion. Donald is kind, but Chloe still finds her mind wandering to blue eyes and citrus smells. He gets up to go to the bathroom, and Chloe pulls out her phone. She has a text with a voice memo from Beca that was delivered a half-hour ago. She curiously opens the message and reads, “Sorry if this is overstepping, but I couldn’t get your song out of my head all day. Had this idea…” Chloe presses play on the voice memo and holds the speaker up to her ear. 

She can make out a simple bass line that perfectly reinforces the vibe Chloe is trying to go for. Chloe is suddenly invigorated and creatively inspired. Her eyes sparkle in excitement, and Donald can tell when he returns to the table.

“Woah what happened while I was gone?” He’s smiling.

“I just figured out what I need to do with a song I’ve been working on. I think I’m going to head home. When lightning strikes, I have to take advantage of it.” Chloe smiles apologetically.

“Can I hear the song?”

Chloe immediately shakes her head, “I’m sorry, I’m just not comfortable sharing it yet.”

Donald’s face falls a little, but he recovers quickly, “Well at least let me give you a ride home.”

“That’d be great. Thank you for being so understanding.” 

Donald pays the check again despite Chloe’s protest, and as they get up from their table, he takes her hand. His hand is big and slightly clammy, but Chloe just smiles in his direction. They get into Donald’s car and ride in silence again, Chloe vibrating with energy as she thinks about her song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all like this one! Thank you so much for reading! I greatly appreciate all your reactions, so let me know what you think! This is so much fun to write :)


	8. Chapter 8

Chloe says good night to Donald and almost runs into her house. She makes a beeline for her home studio and gets to work. The pop star is strumming through the guitar part when she decides to text Beca, “Hey, I love your bass line! Any chance you can record it for me?” After hitting send, Chloe realizes it’s starting to get late and almost regrets sending the message until a reply pops up. “Sure, did you want to do it now?” Chloe smiles as she responds, “That’d be great! Thank you so much, Beca!” She sends Beca her address and gets a response informing her the bassist will be there in about twenty-five minutes. 

The redhead spends the time it takes for Beca to arrive frantically cleaning her house. She spends extra time in the studio, making sure everything is in place, and collecting her song ideas strewn across the floor. Chloe is surveying her living room looking for anything out of place when someone knocks on the door. She opens the door to see a Beca shifting her weight from one foot to the other, bass strapped to her back.

“Um, hey,” Beca says.

“Hi! Come on in!” Chloe smiles widely.

She leads Beca into the music room and plays what she has so far. Beca visibly relaxes in the studio and concentrates on the track Chloe plays. Immediately Beca sits at the monitors tweaking effects and asking Chloe her opinion on the sound. They work together smoothly, immediately understanding what the other is looking for. Beca plays the bass line she came up with, and it weaves into the track perfectly. Chloe lays down the vocals, and Beca helps with some of the backing vocal parts. Their voices harmonize beautifully, and they’re both so engrossed in creating the song they don’t realize the sun is starting to rise. 

They’ve nearly finished a demo, and Chloe decides to make them some coffee. She quickly brews her favorite roast and preps mugs for her and Beca.

“How do you take your coffee?” Chloe calls out.

“Just some cream.” Beca answers.

Chloe returns with steaming cups of coffee for each of them and hands Beca the one without sugar. Beca looks at her gratefully, and Chloe’s so distracted by Beca’s eyes that she forgets to let go of the mug. Their hands brush, and Beca has an indecipherable look on her face. Chloe clears her throat, then steps back out of Beca’s personal space.

* * *

Their hands are touching, and Beca is staring at Chloe’s lips, and all she can think about is kissing Chloe. She tries not to let her disappointment show when Chloe takes a step back. Beca tells herself that Chloe is in a relationship with Donald and definitely has no interest in kissing Beca. Her impaired judgment is just a result of the intensity of the songwriting experience and lack of sleep. Kissing Chloe would be an embarrassing mistake that Beca would have to relive the entire summer while they’re on tour together. 

Beca fakes a yawn and moves further away from Chloe. In reality, she’s energized by the songwriting session but needs to get out of Chloe’s house as soon as possible. 

“I better get home. I’m pretty tired.” 

Chloe looks at her, sympathetically, “I have a guest room if you just want to crash.”

Beca’s “No!” comes out more forcefully than she intends, and the brunette tries not to wince at Chloe’s hurt expression. She makes a vague excuse before getting her bass and leaving Chloe’s as quickly as she can. The whole time Chloe still looks like a kicked puppy, and Beca tries not to make eye contact. 

Beca arrives home and opens the door to find Stacie stretching in the hallway. Stacie looks confused 

“Where in the world did you come from? I assumed you were dead to the world in your room. Ooh, were you finally getting some?” Stacie ends with a smirk.

Beca rolls her eyes, “I have my bass with me; I was just out songwriting.”

“With Em? You two don’t usually go that late.”

“No, with Chloe Beale.” Beca rushes her words together in hopes that Stacie will overlook the statement.

Stacie wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, and Beca rolls her eyes. “So, are we going to talk about it or no?” Stacie follows up after Beca doesn’t say anything.

“No. I’m going to bed.” Beca pushes past Stacie and heads towards her bedroom.

“Sweet dreams Becs!” Stacie calls from the door in her most seductive voice.

Beca raises up her right hand and flips Stacie off without looking back.

* * *

Time flies as Chloe and her team continue to prepare for the tour. Chloe is constantly in rehearsals, and her body aches. She tries not to dwell on it, but it seems like Beca is avoiding her. In an attempt to make Beca talk to her, Chloe suggested to the choreographer that there should be a moment between the two of them during the dance number The Strikes are in.

The first time they rehearse that section, Beca is struggling with nailing the moves down. Chloe moves behind her to help and places her hands on Beca’s hips. Beca immediately stiffens, and Chloe thinks she hears a sharp inhale. The brunette still smells like citrus despite the grueling dance rehearsal. Chloe tries not to be obvious while she inhales deeply. Beca doesn’t relax until Chloe moves away, and they continue to learn the choreography.

Chloe and Donald are going on dates at least once a week, sometimes more. As lovely as Donald is, Chloe feels no chemistry between them and has to remind herself it’s for the good of her career. The internet loves Chonald, and Chloe feels guilty for lying to her fans who are so invested in their relationship. She and Donald get along well enough, but it seems that Donald wants their relationship to become real. Chloe ponders the Donald situation, wondering how to let him down easily, as she walks into the bathroom.

Beca is at the sink washing her hands, and they make eye contact through the mirror. It’s been nearly a month since they’ve been alone in a room together, and Chloe plans to seize the opportunity.

* * *

Beca grimaces internally, she’s managed to avoid Chloe so far, but of course, her downfall is the bathroom. After that morning at Chloe’s, Beca resolved that she needed to get rid of whatever crush she had before they left for tour. Step one of her master plan was to avoid Chloe unless they had to interact. Then they added a section of choreography where Beca had to dance with Chloe. She did her best to quell the feelings Chloe’s touch brought up and focused on the dance moves.

For the most part, Beca has adhered to her plan. There were a few slip-ups where Beca searched #Chonald on Twitter only to click away at the first image she’s confronted with. Sometimes Beca stares at Chloe when the pop star isn’t paying attention. Stacie will whisper something about Beca’s lack of subtlety, and Beca will elbow her best friend in the side. Beca is cursing her luck when Chloe’s voice gets her attention,

“Hey, Beca! It feels like it’s been forever!”

“Yeah, I guess we’ve both been pretty busy.” 

“How are you?”

Beca wants to roll her eyes at the small talk, but Chloe looks so sincere. “I’m okay. How are you?”

“Rehearsals are exhausting, but I’m good!” Chloe flashes, Beca a big smile.

Beca finishes washing her hands and reaches for a paper towel to dry them. She has no inclination to continue the conversation. Chloe clearly has other plans,

“I played our song for a few people, and they love it.” 

Beca tries not to visibly react to Chloe, calling it their song, “That’s great.”

Beca moves to leave the bathroom, but Chloe blocks her way.

“I would love to write together again.”

Beca can see the determination in the other girl’s eyes, and any argument dies in her throat. If Beca is entirely honest, she wants to write together again too. They worked together so seamlessly the first time. Beca swallows and nods at Chloe instead of verbally responding. Chloe looks almost relieved and moves out of Beca’s way while saying,

“Cool. Let’s set up some time this weekend. I’ll text you.”

“As long as it doesn’t cut into your boyfriend time, I’m sure.” Beca regrets the words as soon as they leave her mouth and scurries out the door, too scared to look back at Chloe’s expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello hello, thank you for reading! I appreciate all of the support so far, and always love to hear what everyone thinks so let me know in the comments!


	9. Chapter 9

Beca stands in her closet, a pile of outfits she’s rejected next to her. She sits down in front of the full-length mirror in a huff of frustration. Checking the time, Beca realizes she’s spent thirty minutes trying to figure out what to wear to Chloe’s. The last time she went over, it was a spur of the moment decision. Beca didn’t even consider what she was wearing, but now for whatever reason, it matters. She has to pick something and get going, so she grabs the first option she tried of ripped black jeans and a vintage The Smiths t-shirt. On the drive to Chloe’s, Beca cringes at the awkward end to their conversation in the bathroom. She wasn’t ready to run into the pop star that day and was scared Chloe would call her out for her staring. She parks and walks towards Chloe’s front door, an apology on the tip of her tongue when she hears a car rumbling from behind.

Beca turns to see a cherry red sports car pulling up, the windows are tinted, and Beca can’t see who is inside. The car parks and turns off, and Chloe steps out of the passenger side door. She’s wearing an off the shoulder light blue sundress. They make eye contact, and Chloe gives her a soft smile that makes Beca forget about everything else in the universe. She’s pulled back into the world when Donald walks up to Chloe and pulls her in for a goodbye kiss. Beca’s eyes shoot down to the ground as quickly as possible, and she turns to wait for Chloe at the door. Beca can just barely hear the couple saying their goodbyes. She hears the telltale click-clack of Chloe’s approach, and Donald’s car rumbles back to life. Assuming it’s safe, Beca puts what she hopes is a neutral expression on her face and turns to face Chloe. Inside, her stomach is roiling with different emotions, and she doesn’t want Chloe to recognize the discomfort. Chloe gives her another smile, this one seems more apologetic.

Chloe is still a few feet away when she calls out, “hey!”

“Um, hi,” Beca responds, shoving her hands in her pockets.

Chloe’s reached the door now, and Beca moves over to let her unlock it. They’re close together, and Beca tries to control her physical reaction. Chloe lets them in and leads her into the music room.

“Do you want water or anything?” Chloe asks

“Yeah, water would be great, actually.”

Chloe leaves for the kitchen, and Beca uses the opportunity to collect herself. She decides to throw herself and her emotions into the music. Chloe invited her over to make music, not for Beca to make any stupid observations on Chloe’s life. Beca makes a plan for the session to stay physically far away from Chloe and focus on the music at all times. Chloe returns from the kitchen with water for both of them, and they get to work.

* * *

Working with Beca is just as seamless and artistically rewarding as the first time. Chloe is still blown away by how well they mesh and always be on the same page about what the song needs. A few times when they’re writing lyrics, Chloe tries to learn more about Beca. She asks where a particular lyric was inspired from, but Beca just gives vague unsubstantial answers. Even though they work well together, it’s less relaxed than the first time. Beca is all business, and Chloe tries not to let her dejection show. She’d invited Beca over with the excuse of songwriting, but really she just wanted to get to know the bassist better. 

They’ve been working for about an hour, and now they’re fighting. Chloe wants to laugh because out of all the topics in the world she thought they’d fight about, this was not one. Beca is looking at her like she’s crazy, and Chloe fights down the giggles that are bubbling. The bassist lets her head fall into her hands and groans,

“Chloe, we are not putting that pun in the song lyrics.”

“Why not?” Chloe doesn’t really want to use the lyric, but she thought it was funny.

Beca looks up at her and searches Chloe’s face carefully. There’s a pause until Beca says,

“Really, Chloe? We be-lung together. Because without you, I can’t breathe?”

This time Chloe can’t keep the laughter from taking over, and soon enough, she’s laughing so hard she’s crying. Beca’s laughing too, still looking slightly bewildered. It takes a few minutes for Chloe to control herself, ribs aching from all the laughter. Beca looks over expectantly, and Chloe rolls her eyes.

“I never actually wanted to use the lyric. I just wanted to see your reaction.” The giggles appear again, but Chloe recovers much faster this time.

Beca’s giving her a look she can’t figure out, but before she can ask, Beca steers them back to work. Chloe decides to get serious about the song and makes a few suggestions that make Beca look over in surprise. She just smiles at the bassist, almost daring her to doubt Chloe’s musical knowledge. After a moment, Beca just smiles back and makes the changes Chloe suggested. At the very least, they have mutual respect regarding the music, which for Chloe is rare in a songwriting or producing partner.

They’ve been working for a while, and Beca is concentrated on the computer screen in front of her. She occasionally bops her head to their song playing through the bulky headphones or sticks her tongue out in extreme focus. She looks so in her element, Chloe can’t help but snap a photo. Beca is framed beautifully by some sunlight streaming through the window behind her. Chloe adds the picture to her Instagram story with a note about how fun song creation is. She debates tagging Beca, wondering if the bassist will be mad about the photo, but in the end, she decides to add the tag. They’re going on tour together after all, and it’ll be a good promo.

Beca turns around to talk to Chloe, and she puts her phone down. They get back to work, nearly done with a demo of their new song. After about an hour, they’ve powered through and created a version of the song they’re both satisfied with. They play the song, and Chloe is nearly buzzing with happiness. Beca looks proud, especially of the bridge they’d spent so long on. When the track fades out, Chloe throws her arms around Beca in a celebratory hug.

“It’s so good. Thank you so much!”

Beca mutters, “Yeah, but don’t thank me. It was both of us.”

Chloe smiles and wonders if Beca’s cheeks were that pink earlier. She asks Beca to play it again and sits on the floor with her eyes closed, happily listening. About halfway through, Beca calls her name. She opens one eye to look at the bassist who’s on her phone.

Seeing she has Chloe’s attention, Beca asks, “Why do I have so many new followers?”

Chloe’s other eye opens, and she tries to mask her surprise, “Oh, I just posted a story of you working, no big deal.”

* * *

No big deal, Chloe says. Well, nearly eight thousand new Instagram followers and counting seem like a pretty big deal to Beca. She turns her attention back to her phone and opens Twitter. Beca’s mentions are flooded with Chloe’s fans, and she finds a few threads saying Bechloe is superior to Chonald. Somehow they’ve already settled on a name for her and Chloe. She tries to hide her reaction to this new development, but Chloe must have noticed because she asks,

“What have you found?”

“Nothing.” Beca tries to keep her face neutral. She tries ignoring Chloe and staring at her phone.

Chloe doesn’t believe her, and the pop star gets up to look over Beca’s shoulder.

“Bechloe, huh? That was fast. You know how the internet can be. They love to speculate on relationships.” Chloe’s tone at the end feels pointed, and Beca tries to disappear into her chair.

They sit in silence until the song finishes playing for the second time, and as if on cue, Beca’s stomach rumbles. They both chuckle, and Beca gets up while saying,

“Well, I better head home.”

“No, stay for dinner, please? It’s the least I can do!”

Chloe looks so hopeful, and Beca can’t say no. When she agrees to stay, Chloe up Postmates and moves closer to Beca. She scrolls through the options, and they settle on Chinese. While they wait for the food to arrive, Chloe leads Beca into the living room. She turns on the giant flat screen and settles onto the couch.

“What do you want to watch?” Chloe asks.

Beca shrugs and says, “I don’t really care.” 

Chloe changes the channel to one of the overdramatic reality shows that Stacie loves, and Beca groans at her choice.

Chloe looks over, “You had your chance, no complaining now.” 

“You’ve got me there.” 

They watch in silence for a while until Chloe makes a comment, and then they’re off. Beca is mostly complaining about people’s decisions, and Chloe takes every opportunity to make stupid jokes. The food arrives, and Beca jumps up to get it, Chloe looking at her appreciatively. Beca comes back with their food, and they settle back into watching the show.

* * *

Chloe is a few bites into her food, feeling fully relaxed for the first time in a while. An idea pops into her head, and she gets up to head into the kitchen. Beca turns to watch her leave, looking confused. Once in the kitchen, Chloe grabs two wine glasses and opens a bottle of rosé. She returns to the living room and pours them both relatively large glasses of wine. She hands one to Beca, who takes a sip, smirks, and says,

“A sweet one, of course.”

Chloe rolls her eyes, “I’m nothing if not on brand.” 

They eat in relative silence, still watching reality TV and sipping their wine. After they finish eating, the commentary returns, and it’s even funnier than before. Chloe’s already a little tipsy, and she can’t help but hope that Beca will spend more nights like this together. They’re both on their second glass of wine when Beca gets up to go to the bathroom. 

While Beca is gone, Chloe checks her phone and scrolls through Twitter a bit. She likes a few tweets about how amazing and talented Beca is. Beca returns, and they settle back into their routine of humor and criticism. Chloe is naturally a physically affectionate person, but being tipsy makes her more touchy than usual. Plus, being around Beca, there’s always an inexplicable magnetism. So Chloe finds herself moving closer to Beca throughout the night.

Chloe falls asleep on the couch that night, her head in Beca’s lap. Beca has been playing with her hair, and it’s just so soothing Chloe can’t keep her eyes open anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is already longer than I ever expected it to be, and I'm having so much fun writing this fic. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. I love all of your comments, and always want to know what you think! Thanks for all the positivity :)


	10. Chapter 10

Beca wakes up to the first bits of sunlight streaming through the windows. When she opens her eyes, she doesn’t recognize her surroundings and panics for a moment until she notices the girl sleeping on her lap. Chloe’s hair is spread out, and she looks like a goddess sleeping. Beca rolls her eyes because, of course, Chloe is always gorgeous, and her fingers itch to run through Chloe’s soft hair again. Then the reality of sleeping at Chloe’s house, with Chloe, on Chloe’s couch settles in, and Beca is back to panicking. Her first instinct to get out of there as quickly as possible, and she follows it. Beca gently shakes Chloe awake and hides her emotions. Chloe is sleepy and lethargic, not wanting to be fully conscious, but Beca gets the other girl to move enough so she can stand up. Beca pushes away the urge to go back and cuddle with Chloe and slips out the door as quietly as possible.

Once she arrives home, Beca tries to open the door quietly but sighs when she sees Stacie stretching in the hallway. When Beca gathers the courage to look at Stacie, the taller girl is grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

“We have got to stop meeting like this,” Stacie says with a smirk.

“Yeah, well. I’ll be in my room then.” Beca mumbles and tries to move past Stacie.

The taller girl blocks Beca’s way, and with a shake of her head, says, “Nice try.”

Beca sighs in defeat and follows Stacie into their kitchen. There is a hot pot of coffee, and Beca makes a beeline for it.

“If I’m going to have this conversation, I’m going to have caffeine in me first,” Beca says over her shoulder.

Stacie just shrugs in response and sits down at the table to wait.

Beca takes her time getting her coffee and starting to drink it. She gathers her thoughts and emotions before she finally sits down across from Stacie and asks, “Okay, what do you want to know?”

“Everything, but we can start with what are you feeling?”

“I think about her constantly, even when I don’t want to. She’s dating that stupid Donald guy, and I hate how jealous I am.”

Stacie nods, “So what are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing.”

“Right because that makes sense,” Stacie sighs.

“What am I supposed to do?” Beca covers her face with her hands in frustration.

“I can’t answer that. Has anything happened between you two?”

“Nothing of real significance.”

“Okay, but Becs, I’ve never seen you like this. What’s the worst that could happen if you ask her out?”

“She laughs in my face and kicks us off the tour,” Beca still won’t look at her best friend.

Stacie rolls her eyes, “Yeah, because Chloe seems the type to do something like that.”

Beca groans, “Whatever.”

“Look, Becs, she would be lucky to go on a date with you because you are amazing, kind, loyal, funny, artistic, and I could go on forever.”

“You forgot, badass.”

This pulls a snort out of Stacie, who continues, “My point is you’re giving up before even trying. So please just try, or else you’re going to feel like this forever. And I do not want to deal with you moping around about unrequited love when you won’t even find out how she’s feeling.”

Beca just grunts in acknowledgment, so Stacie gets up to go on her run. Beca doesn’t look up until the front door closes. Logically, she knows Stacie is right that Beca should do something; but for whatever reason asking Chloe out is incredibly intimidating. Beca looks over to the microwave to check the time and mutters to herself,

“Fuck it.”

She grabs her keys and heads out the front door for breakfast with Chloe.

* * *

When Chloe wakes up, she’s on the couch in her living room alone. Confused at first, she thinks about the previous night and getting tipsy with Beca. She springs up and looks around the room for Beca, deflating when she realizes the other girl is nowhere to be found. Chloe can just barely smell Beca’s citrusy clean scent left on the couch cushions and sighs a bit. She gets up and stretches, letting out a yawn. 

Chloe pads into her kitchen and fills her kettle, and puts it on the stove. She sits down at her breakfast bar and scrolls through her social media; The pop star can’t help but smile at all the love for Beca from her fans. She’s reading Bechloe theories on Twitter when her doorbell rings. The sound surprises her enough to drop her phone onto the counter; She checks if it’s cracked, then gets up to answer the door. 

She opens the door to find Donald on her front steps sporting a wide grin. Chloe tries not to let her disappointment show; For whatever reason, she thought it would be Beca on her doorstep.

“Hey! I was hoping I could take you to breakfast,” He says hopefully.

Chloe musters the best smile she can and answers, “Sounds so fun! Come on in; I just have to get ready.”

She moves back to let him in; As he walks past, Donald plants a kiss on her cheek. Chloe smiles again before gesturing to the living room,

“Make yourself at home; I’ll just be upstairs.” She jerks her head in the direction of the stairs.

He nods at her, “Cool, thanks.” 

As Chloe makes her way up the stairs, she hears the TV switch on, and Donald channel surfs until he finds a sports network. Deciding she doesn’t have time to shower, Chloe heads into her closet to find a cute dress for the day. She settles on a red shirt dress with horses on it and fastens a belt around the waist. Chloe grabs her favorite pair of strappy sandals and heads into the bathroom to quickly do her makeup.

While she’s working on her eyeliner, the doorbell rings again. She yells down to Donald,

“Can you get that?”

“Yeah, no worries!” He calls back up.

Chloe can’t hear his conversation with whoever is at the door over the TV, but she does hear the door close again. After putting the finishing touches on her makeup, she heads back downstairs.

“You look cute,” Donald says when he sees her coming.

“Thanks!” Chloe smiles at him, then remembers the doorbell from earlier, “Who was at the door?”

“Oh, it was that same chick from last night.” He says.

“Where’d she go?”

“She mumbled something I couldn’t hear then said nevermind, and left.”

“Huh, that’s weird.” 

“She seems kind of squirrel-like. How do you know her anyway?”

“She’s part of the band that’s opening for me; I’m just going to call her and make sure everything’s okay.”

“Sure,” Donald says before turning his attention back to the TV.

Chloe presses on Beca’s contact and hears the phone ring twice before it goes to voicemail. She tries not to wince as Beca’s messaging system tells her to leave her information after the tone. The phone beeps, and Chloe nervously says,

“Hey, um… Heard you were at my house and wanted to check if you needed anything. Okay, well, let me know. Oh! This is Chloe, by the way.”

She grimaces a bit as she hangs up. Donald looks at her from the couch,

“Ready, babe? I’m starving.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Chloe says, and she follows him out the door. The whole time she’s thinking about Beca, why the bassist showed up at her house, and why she left.

* * *

Beca gets back in her car and stops herself from slamming the door. Of course, her boyfriend answered the door. That’s just Beca’s luck, apparently. Beca sighs as she heads back to her apartment the whole time muttering to herself how the whole idea was stupid. She pushes away the sting of the tears threatening to spill. Beca’s phone starts ringing, and when she checks the caller ID, she immediately declines the call. Does Chloe just want to embarrass her further? Shaking her head Beca presses the button for Siri and asks to call Emily. 

Emily picks up after a few rings and seems concerned at Beca’s tone of voice. Beca asks if they can write, and Emily readily agrees. It’s a brief call, and Beca heads to Emily’s apartment instead of her own. 

When Beca arrives at Emily’s, she refuses to talk about how she feels or express any real emotions. Emily used to Beca holding back, just ignores the other girl’s disposition, and finds the last song they’d been working on. Beca starts something new instead without telling Emily, and the younger girl just lets her work how she needs to. The bassist is through the first verse and chorus before she finally looks at Emily and asks,

“What do you think of this one?”

“Yeah, it’s good. Really good. It’s just…” Emily bobs her head up and down before trailing off.

“It’s what?” Beca’s eyes don’t look dangerous, so Emily finishes her sentence.

“It’s heartbreaking, is all. I don’t think it’s for The Strikes, but you could sell it, or keep it for yourself, so many options,” Emily cuts herself off before she can ramble further.

Beca tenses up at the word heartbreaking and grits her teeth,

“Yeah, okay.” Is her only response once Emily finishes.

They go back to working in silence, and Beca is relieved that she won’t have to play the song she’s been writing unless she has to.

In the last few weeks of rehearsals, Beca is entirely on autopilot. Her bandmates ignore her mood, but sometimes she walks in on them talking about her with concerned looks. Most of the time, she rolls her eyes and tries to get excited about the tour. Traveling will be refreshing and, hopefully, entirely consuming. Beca has also resumed her avoidance tactics with Chloe but finds herself staring at the pop star when no one will notice. She’ll also catch Chloe looking at her with that confusing expression on occasion, but pushes everything down.

* * *

Chloe sits in her kitchen with Aubrey after one of the last pre-tour meetings with her team. They’re talking about all the preparations, and Aubrey asks how she likes the openers.

“They’re great! CR seems so cool, and I can’t wait to get to know her better. The Strikes are also the perfect vibe for this tour, and they’re all so nice!”

“Even little Miss Ear Monstrosities?”

Chloe sighs a bit.

“What’s that about?” Aubrey asks immediately.

“Nothing. It’s just one step forward, two steps back with Beca.”

Aubrey pauses to think this over. She’s encountered Beca a few times, and they’ve developed a friendly yet adversarial relationship. The blonde would never admit it, but she’s actually fond of the short girl. 

“Why don’t you just talk to her? Be super honest?”

Chloe sighs again, “How am I supposed to talk to her when she does nothing but avoid me?”

“Go to her apartment.”

“I don’t know where she lives.”

“I do.”

Chloe’s eyes snap up at this while Aubrey quickly starts inspecting the counter. The blonde is blushing, and Chloe smiles at her friend.

“Wow, I knew you liked her, but I didn’t know it was serious enough you’ve been to her place. You haven’t let a relationship get that far in years.”

“Yes, well, Stacie is a very charming woman,” Aubrey gets redder by the second.

Taking pity on her friend Chloe responds, “I’m sure she is. So will you take me there?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Cool, let’s go.”

“Right now?”

“Obviously, when else?”

Aubrey nods and grabs her purse, then follows Chloe out the front door. The whole drive over, Chloe can’t stop fidgeting in her seat. Aubrey is kind enough not to point out how antsy the pop star is. At one point, a Strikes song comes on the radio, and both girls sing their hearts out along with Stacie. They finally arrive, and Aubrey rings the doorbell.

They wait around a minute, and Chloe is ready to give up when the door swings open to reveal Stacie in nothing but a towel. The brunette looks them up and down and says,

“Hey, ladies, sorry for the wait. I was in the shower.”

Chloe looks over at her best friend, who currently rivals Chloe’s hair in terms of redness. She laughs at Aubrey’s expression, then turns back to Stacie,

“Is Beca home?”

Stacie shifts her weight awkwardly from foot to foot before answering,

“No, she’s. Well, she’s on a date?” The end comes out as a question. 

Chloe uses every ounce of control, not to let her face fall. Aubrey is looking over sympathetically. Stacie clears her throat and speaks up again,

“Right, you guys can come in and wait if you want? We could watch a movie?”

Aubrey looks at Chloe, who just shrugs.

“Yeah, okay, we’ll wait,” Aubrey says decisively. 

Stacie moves out of the way, and they head inside to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a hot sec. I'm sorry. Everything got really busy and overwhelming and I wasn't really feeling like writing, but I am now! Sorry for the wait, I hope y'all like this one. Thank you for reading and for all your feedback thus far, I love reading your comments so let me know what you think :)


	11. Chapter 11

Beca is doing her best to focus on the woman sitting across from her, but she can’t stop her mind from wandering. Madison is kind and easy on the eyes; usually, Beca would make more of an effort. It isn’t even about Madison. Beca just keeps thinking about blue eyes and easy smiles. Beca realizes that the other woman is looking at her expectantly and shakes her head in an attempt to clear her mind. Flashing the best smile she can muster, she’s apologetic as she says,

“Sorry, I was zoned out there. What did you say?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go for a nightcap!” Madison chirps.

“Ah, I’m sorry I can’t. I have a big day tomorrow preparing to leave for the tour.”

Madison’s face falls for a fraction of a second before she’s smiling again. She nods in understanding. They finish off their desserts, and Beca picks up the check. When they separate in the parking lot, Madison gives her a hug and tells Beca to text when she’s back in town.

Beca slides into her car with a sigh and sits with her eyes closed for a minute before heading home. On a whim, she decides to stop for a pint of Stacie’s favorite ice cream so they can have a quiet night in. As Beca approaches her apartment, she can hear giggling from down the hall. Stacie hadn’t mentioned anyone coming over. When she gets closer, she can hear the TV is on too and opens the door with a bemused smile on her face. Expecting to see her bandmates, Beca quickly attempts to hide her shock at Chloe Beale and Aubrey sitting in her living room. She sees wine glasses, popcorn, and three heads turning to watch her enter the apartment. 

“Hi everyone,” Beca says awkwardly as she hangs up her keys.

She receives a chorus of hellos in response.

Looking at Stacie, Beca gestures with the bag in her hand, “I got your special ice cream. I wasn’t expecting company. I’m just going to go put it in the freezer.” 

Beca shifts her weight awkwardly and then heads into the kitchen. She can just make out the sound of whispers and giggles in her wake. After putting the ice cream away, she squares her shoulders and takes a deep breath before heading back into the living room.

“How was your night?” Stacie asks, seeing Beca reenter.

“Um yeah. It was fun.”

Stacie just raises an eyebrow.

“Right, well, what’re you watching?”

“Something from Hallmark, I don’t know. Come sit!”

Beca eyes the small couch, but before she can say anything, Stacie pulls Aubrey into her lap and pats the empty space.

“Come on, Beca! You’re tiny,” Stacie smirks.

Beca levels a glare at her best friend before heading over and sinking into the small space in the middle of the couch. She’s careful not to touch Chloe as she sits but is hyper-aware of the presence next to her.

They’re watching the movie in silence when Beca starts to hear heavy breathing coming from her left. She pointedly keeps her gaze on the TV screen, ignoring the whispers, whines, and tiny gasps coming from the couple next to her. This is far from the first time Stacie has done something like this in her presence, and she’s found that ignoring works better than acknowledging. Especially after the time Stacie said something about Beca joining in, prompting her to choke on the cider she had been in the process of sipping. In her peripheral, Beca sees Chloe continually glancing at the other two women. When it looks like Chloe might try to say something, Beca gets her attention and subtly shakes her head. Finally, after what feels like years off her life, Stacie stands up carrying Aubrey with her and heads into her bedroom without a word. 

Chloe lets out a long sigh of relief next to her, and Beca can’t help but echo the sentiment. Then Chloe erupts into a fit of giggles, and once again, Beca is swept into the gravity of Chloe’s emotions, and soon she’s laughing just as hard. Once they manage to calm down and catch their breath, Chloe is first to break the silence,

“I’m sorry, it’s just that Aubrey has never done anything like that before.” She’s wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes, and they look even more blue than usual. There’s a twinkle in her eye that Beca tries to memorize.

“Ah well, I wish I could say the same for Stacie.”

Chloe chuckles, “Don’t get me wrong, she’s not a prude-”

She cuts herself off at the look of doubt on Beca’s face.

Chloe shoves Beca’s shoulder lightly before continuing, “She’s not! She just has high standards, and her dad always taught her to behave a certain way in social situations.”

“He taught her that?” Beca gestures wildly in the direction of Stacie’s door. As if on cue, a particularly loud moan comes from the room. 

They both dissolve into hysterical giggles again, and Beca is first to compose herself. She grabs the remote and turns the TV up while Chloe continues to laugh next to her. Beca is grinning widely while she waits for Chloe to calm down. Chloe’s face is flushed, and the twinkle in her eyes is even more alluring. Beca’s gaze flicks down to her lips before she mentally scolds herself. The redhead’s expression turns serious as she says,

“See, this isn’t so bad. We have fun! Why are you avoiding me?”

Beca winces and scrambles for any reasonable answer. She takes a deep break before opening her mouth. Just as she’s about to speak, another loud moan comes from Stacie’s room. It breaks the tension in the room, and Beca looks at the TV.

“Oh, look, he’s going to the airport to tell her he loves her!” She points enthusiastically.

Beca resolutely stares at the screen, pretending she can’t see Chloe’s disappointed face next to her. They watch the couple get back together onscreen, and once the credits start to roll, Beca gets up. She gestures in the direction of the kitchen and says,

“I’ll be right back.”

Chloe just nods and turns her attention back to the TV, remote in hand. 

Beca enters the kitchen with no real goal in mind. She paces back and forth, replaying all her interactions with Chloe. How is she meant to answer Chloe’s questions? The sadness and disappointment in the other woman were unmistakable, but what did it mean? In her search for answers, Beca just creates more questions for herself. Deciding to continue down the path of avoidance and sleep on her emotions, Beca decides she’ll call it a night. She heads back into the living room to tell Chloe she’s heading to sleep, only to find the pop-star sleeping peacefully on the couch. She looks younger, and Beca finds it incredibly endearing.

Without thinking it through, Beca gently lifts Chloe from the couch and takes the redhead into her room. She softly deposits the sleeping girl on her bed and justifies the action in her head; since Beca is smaller and the couch is small, she should be the one to sleep there. The bassist covers Chloe with the comforter before grabbing an extra pillow and blanket and heading to the couch. She falls asleep with the image of blue eyes filled with mirth floating through her mind.

* * *

The first thing Chloe registers upon waking up is the smell of citrus. The second is the smell of pancakes. The latter encourages her to get out of bed, but when she opens her eyes, she realizes that she’s not at home. Before panicking, Chloe thinks back to the night before. She’d been tipsy from drinking wine with Aubrey and Stacie. She’d hung out with Beca, who avoided her questions. Examining the grey toned room, Chloe notices a few black and white framed prints, one of which is a still of The Strikes live. They all look entirely in the moment, and the image brings a smile to Chloe’s face. She sees a few different bass guitars set up on a rack in a corner that seems dedicated to music production and decides it must be Beca’s room. The other girl is nowhere to be found, and Chloe is still fully clothed, so she rules out anything happening. She was tipsy, not drunk, so she would remember anyway. 

Deciding to end the speculation, she gets up and heads into the kitchen. There she finds Stacie at the stove flipping pancakes, Aubrey chopping fruit, and Beca, who quietly hands her a mug of tea. She watches for a moment as the three work together, Beca getting bacon for Stacie to fry and cleaning up the parts of the fruits Aubrey couldn’t use. She clears her throat before asking,

“Any way I can help?”

Stacie smiles at her before responding, “No way, you’re the guest here!”

“What about me? I’m a guest,” if Chloe didn’t know better, she’d say Aubrey was whining.

“After the third visit, you stop being a guest,” Stacie grins widely and winks at Chloe.

Aubrey scoffs in response but keeps chopping fruit. 

The three women finish cooking, and Stacie plates up four delicious looking breakfasts. They’re getting situated at the table when Beca offers mimosas; Aubrey declines, citing an important meeting, and takes a glass of orange juice instead. Chloe follows suit since she has to be at the meeting too while Beca and Stacie crack into the champagne.

“So we’re leaving tomorrow… Are you two ready?” Aubrey asks.

“Oh for sure, though this one doesn’t like to pack until the night before.” Stacie points her knife in Beca’s direction. “We love going on tour, though.”

Beca snorts, “Yeah, some of us love the groupies.”

Aubrey visibly pales, and Chloe gives Beca a look she hopes says, “are you kidding me?” Chloe feels a hard kick to her shin, and her face scrunches in pain,

“Ow! That was me.”

Stacie winces, “Fuck, I’m sorry, Chloe.” 

Then Beca lets out a shout of pain as Stacie connects with her original target. 

“Right well, that won’t be a thing this time around,” Stacie says confidently.

Aubrey lets out a sigh of relief and starts to blush as everyone turns their attention to her. Chloe decides to save her friend,

“Are there any cities you’re particularly excited about?”

“Well, going back to Cleveland is always great,” Beca replies.

“And Beca loves San Francisco,” Stacie says with a smirk.

It’s Beca’s turn to blush while glaring at Stacie. Chloe’s eyes flick back and forth between the bandmates as if she’s at a tennis match. When it’s clear that neither woman will clarify that statement, she turns her attention back to eating. The rest of breakfast passes without incident. They chat idly but pointedly avoid any more tour talk or anything that could turn awkward. 

After they finish and help clean up, it’s time to go to their last pre-tour meeting. Aubrey makes sure they leave with enough time to stop by Chloe’s to freshen up and change. They say their goodbyes and head for Aubrey’s car. As soon as they get in, Aubrey asks,

“So, did you talk to her?”

Chloe tries to hide her disappointment, “No, I was too tipsy anyway.”

Aubrey glances over, the doubt clear in her expression.

“We don’t even need to think about it right now. Let’s get this meeting done so we can start on our next big adventure.” 

Chloe grins and pokes Aubrey’s side until she starts smiling too.

“Okay, stop poking me! I’m driving!”

Chloe sticks her tongue out in response, and Aubrey rolls her eyes. Chloe still sees the smile Aubrey is trying to hide but pretends not to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'm planning on writing more regularly now that the holidays are over. Your comments and kudos are so motivating, and I can't thank you enough for the support so far. Let me know what you think about this one! :)


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